MLB Field of Dreams Game Brings Movie To Life

Dyersville, Iowa —(Map)

Last Thursday, a Major League Baseball (MLB) game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox was held near fields of corn in the middle of Iowa. The “Field of Dreams” game was based on a 30-year-old movie.

In the movie, Field of Dreams, which starred Kevin Costner, a farmer hears voices that encourage him to give up his corn crop and build a baseball field in its place, even though doing this could cause him to lose his farm. The farmer hears the unusual message, “If you build it, he will come.”

Last Thursday, a Major League Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox was held near fields of corn in the middle of Iowa. The “Field of Dreams” game was based on a 30-year-old movie.

The farmer builds the field, in spite of all his doubting neighbors. And, sure enough, ghosts of baseball players from the long-past 1919 World Series appear from out of the nearby corn fields. They play baseball in front of a large crowd of fans, who have also appeared, saving the man’s farm.

The movie, with its clear love of baseball, was a huge hit. Decades later, MLB was looking for a way to connect with fans who live far away from the large cities where almost all MLB games are played. They decided to make the movie come to life.

The field that was used in the movie is in Dyersville, Iowa. It has been popular with tourists since 1989. But the field is too small for an MLB game. So MLB built a brand new, much larger field, close to the one used in the movie.

The Field of Dreams game was originally supposed to take place last year, but was delayed for a year because of the coronavirus. 

Last Thursday, it finally happened. Just like in the movie, members of the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox baseball teams appeared from out of the nearby corn fields. They played the first MLB game ever held in Iowa, wearing special uniforms designed to look like those used in 1919.

Just like the movie, members of the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox baseball teams appeared from out of the nearby corn fields. They played Iowa’s first-ever MLB game, wearing special uniforms designed to look like those used in 1919.

The game was an exciting one, with eight home runs in all. And just like a movie, it all came down to a surprising ending. Coming into the final inning, the New York Yankees were down 7-4. But with two two-run homers in the first half of the ninth inning, the Yankees took the lead 8-7.

But when the White Sox had their turn at bat, Tim Anderson had different plans. He slammed a two-run homer way out into the corn. He was so sure it was a home run that he didn’t just run around the bases. He walked and danced, too. Chicago won the game 9-8. Anderson said, “The fans came to see a show, and we gave them a show.”

When the White Sox had their turn at bat, Tim Anderson slammed a two-run homer way out into the corn, winning the game, 9-8. He was so sure it was a home run that he didn’t just run around the bases. He walked and danced, too. (Above)

The game was a huge hit. Nearly six million people watched it on TV. MLB says that 7,832 people showed up in person. That’s about double the number of people who normally live in Dyersville. Though tickets were limited to people from Iowa, some tickets were resold online for prices as high as $10,000.

MLB says the game was such a great success that they plan to hold another Field of Dreams game next year.

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Did You Know…?
Because it’s been so hot and dry in Iowa this summer, a special watering system had to be put in place to make sure the corn around the baseball field was tall and green.