The inaugural Field of Dreams game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees one year ago turned into an instant classic.
The TV presentation, the sight of “Field of Dreams” star Kevin Costner leading the players through the cornfield to the ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa, the sounds of crickets chirping and the game itself all lived up to the hype.
It’s probably unfair to judge Thursday’s Field of Dreams game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds against the success of last year’s, especially because both teams are well out of contention in the National League Central.
But every sequel inevitably gets compared with the original, and other than “The Godfather Part II” and perhaps a handful of others, it’s almost impossible to replicate something that worked to perfection.
The Cubs, naturally, are excited to be part of MLB’s biggest in-season event besides the All-Star Game, knowing they’re following in the footsteps of a classic.
“It’s a little part of history,” Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner said Wednesday after homering in a 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. “Eight thousand people is going to be small, but I feel like everyone there is going to be excited to be there. Just awesome all around.”
Tim Anderson’s walk-off home run capped the Sox’s 9-8 win over the Yankees in the inaugural game, which most thought would be a one-time event until the Cubs-Reds matchup was announced shortly afterward.
“I watched it last year,” Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom said. “I saw how special it was. And then when I saw that we were part of it this year, I was just super excited.
“And then to see my name on the (MLB) poster, it was really cool for me. Just honored to be a part of that. … I know it’s going to be a long day but something I look forward to.”
Seiya Suzuki, who like many players hasn’t seen the 1989 film and was born after it was made, isn’t all that knowledgeable about its place in American movie lore. But he knows it’s a big deal to baseball and it puts the Cubs on a national stage again.
“I have never watched the movie before, but obviously it’s great (playing) in a really historical stadium,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “I haven’t had the chance to be able to play in a countryside stadium as well, so I’ll get a different perspective. I’m very excited.”
The second Field of Dreams game apparently will be the last one until at least 2024, according to White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, part of the ownership of the Field of Dreams site. Thomas told the Des Moines Register that construction on the site caused MLB to take a pass next year.
“It’s a lot going on,” Thomas said. “They don’t want to come back if the stadium’s not prepared.”
The Cubs and Reds will fly in and out of Iowa on the same day, missing the fun of staying overnight in a roadside motel that advertises free HBO on the marquee. That would make for a more realistic Iowa experience. But remember the star of the show is the cornfield, and the visuals of playing in a ballpark surrounded by corn is the only thing that matters.
The 2021 game drew almost 6 million viewers for Fox, making it the highest-rated regular-season telecast since 1998. Now the network has the unenviable task of making everything seem new and interesting. Costner reportedly won’t be on hand to repeat his dramatic pregame walk, and holding a Field of Dreams game without Costner is like making “Casablanca” without Humphrey Bogart.
But who knows what Fox will have up its sleeve?
The network already has announced Cubs left fielder Ian Happ and Reds first baseman Joey Votto will be mic’d up for the game and able to talk to each other on the field.
A Twitter rumor Wednesday suggested the network was testing a hologram of the late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray for the telecast.
Hopefully there won’t be a repeat of the All-Star Game telecast, in which David Ortiz preened in the dugout during the action under the premise he was “interviewing” players. But Ortiz and Álex Rodriguez were featured in the promos for the Field of Dreams game, so we can probably expect the worst.
After watching eight of the 16 combined hits by the Sox and Yankees leave the yard and land in the corn last August, there’s no doubt Wisdom, Votto, Suzuki, Franmil Reyes and others will be swinging for the fences. Because the game is meaningless in the pennant race, they might as well go for broke and give Fox its corn fix.
The Field of Dreams game undoubtedly will be the last time anyone besides Cubs and Reds fans are interested in this matchup, at least until one or both are contenders again. From the looks of things, that could take a while.
Thursday’s game may not match up to the original, and Iowa may not be heaven.
But for one night, we can dream.
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