Major League Baseball is building a temporary ballpark at the “Field of Dreams” — the setting for the iconic 1989 baseball movie — and the White Sox and Yankees are coming.
The game, being dubbed “MLB at Field of Dreams,” is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 13, 2020, and will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports.
Construction of a temporary 8,000-seat ballpark on the Dyersville, Iowa, farm where the film was shot will start Tuesday — one year from the date of the game, according to MLB.com. It will be the first major-league game in the state. Dyersville is located about 200 miles west of Chicago.
The high-profile game against the Yankees puts a spotlight on the Sox, who are rebuilding with young talent such as Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez.
“We look forward to celebrating the movie’s enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
The game, a home date for the Sox, will be played on a Thursday. The teams will take Friday off and resume the three-game series Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
” ‘Field of Dreams’ is an iconic, generational baseball story built upon a deep love of the game that transcends even the most impossible of circumstances,” Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “The filmmakers tell a beautiful story that resonates to this day. It is an incredible honor for the White Sox franchise to be the home team against the Yankees in a special setting that will capture everyone’s imagination, just like the movie does.”
The Sox are featured in the film, which stars Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones and Amy Madigan. Liotta plays “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who played the final six seasons of his 13-year career with the Sox. The film is based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella.
The movie was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture. It features several famous quotes, including “If you build it, he will come” and the exchange, “Is this heaven?” followed by, “No, it’s Iowa.”
According to the news release, the Sox and Yankees were two of the favorite teams of one of the film’s characters.
“The Yankees organization is proud to participate in such a unique celebration of baseball,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “I fully expect that this experience will exemplify why baseball remains a cherished American pastime.”
Fans attending the game will walk along a pathway through a cornfield to the field, which will pay homage to Comiskey Park, including the shape of the outfield and bullpens beyond the center-field wall.
The ballpark’s right-field wall will include windows to show the cornfields.
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Major League Baseball has branched out to unique settings for games in recent seasons.
The Fort Bragg (N.C.) Game in 2016 featured the Braves and Marlins. The Royals played the Tigers in Omaha, Neb., home of the College World Series, earlier this season. The annual Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., began in 2017, and this season features the Cubs and Pirates on Aug. 18.
And now comes a “heavenly” opportunity for exposure for the Sox.
The Sox on Friday are holding a screening of the movie after their game against the A’s at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It’s an early chance to preview next season’s event in which — to steal a line from Jones’ famous speech about baseball — “People will most definitely come.”
