Aaron Bummer was sad to hear about the reported cancellation of the “MLB at Field of Dreams” game between the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
“It would be pretty awesome to be out there,” the Sox reliever said.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Monday that the cancellation of the highly anticipated game — which was scheduled for Aug. 13 in Dyersville, Iowa — has more to do with logistical problems, not the COVID-19 outbreak on the Cardinals.
A Sox spokesman said they were waiting to hear from Major League Baseball about the game’s official status.
“If that’s the case, everybody was looking forward to it,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “But until we have official word of that, I’m going to assume we’re there.”
The game was set to take place in an 8,000-seat temporary ballpark built on the farm where the iconic Oscar-nominated 1989 film “Field of Dreams” was shot.
“I’m from Omaha,” Bummer said, “and family members and people in general in Nebraska were excited for that game to get some more baseball in the Midwest. I’m sad that it’s going to be gone, but if that’s the safest decision, that’s something I’m completely on board with.
“Safety needs to be taken care of first. If it’s not safe to go there, then I’m not up for the risk to be going out there. If it’s an extra risk, to me, it’s not necessarily worth it. Hopefully we get to be a part of it next year.”
The Des Moines Register reported the game will take place at the location in 2021, and the Sox likely will be involved against an opponent to be determined.
The Cardinals had their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers postponed after members of the team’s traveling party tested positive for COVID-19.
The Cardinals were scheduled to play the Detroit Tigers next, but that series has been postponed as well. Thirteen members of the Cardinals organization reportedly have tested positive.
The “MLB at Field of Dreams” game was initially slated to feature the White Sox and New York Yankees when it was announced last year. But the Cardinals replaced the Yankees when the coronavirus pandemic led to a new 60-game schedule.
It was going to be the first major-league game in Iowa. Dyersville is about 200 miles west of Chicago.
The White Sox are featured in the film, which stars Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones and Amy Madigan. Liotta plays a fictional version of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who reappears in an Iowa cornfield with the other seven Sox players who were banned from baseball for fixing the 1919 World Series.
The film was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture. It’s based on the novel “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella.