Back in 2021, MLB came up with the genius idea of hosting a game a year at the iconic Field of Dreams site, made famous by the 1989 baseball movie bearing the same name. So far, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have yet to participate in the series, which continued in 2022, but won’t be taking place in 2023.
The first game was a resounding success, with the Chicago White Sox defeating the New York Yankees 9-8 in a matchup that drew the highest ratings for a regular season showing on Fox Sports, with 5.9 million viewers tuning in.
Incredibly, the White Sox walked off the Yankees for the 15th time in team history, but what’s special about this is Shoeless Joe Jackson was the first member of the team to accomplish the feat. Of course, Jackson was a central character in the Field of Dreams movie, giving this outcome an eerie tie-in to the actual story.
The 2022 matchup was just as special, with the Cincinnati Reds taking on the Chicago Cubs in Dyersville, Iowa. What made this game memorable was seeing the father-son duo of Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. playing catch before the first pitch, as players from both teams emerged from the cornfields, just like in the movie.
The Cubs won 4-2, but it didn’t really matter. The craze of the Field of Dreams was once again in full phase, with fans desperate for more.
Unfortunately, as mentioned, that opportunity won’t come during the 2023 baseball season since there is currently ongoing construction at the site, with plans to make the location into a youth baseball complex, complete with a hotel. However, former Baseball Hall of Fame member Frank Thomas, who is a partial owner of the site, said hosting an MLB game there in the future should not be ruled out.
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Field of Dreams series continues in 2024, but not in Iowa
While the Field of Dreams series will not continue in 2023, fans will get some version of the game in 2024, but not at the same historic site in Iowa.
Instead, according to Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle, the San Francisco Giants are set to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals for the annual Field of Dreams game in 2024, but it will be played in Birmingham, Alabama instead.
Rickwood Field, the oldest standing ballpark in the United States, will be the stadium hosting the event. This was a site that even saw Willie Mays patrol center field from 1948-50 with the Birmingham Black Barons.
The ballpark first opened in 1910 and has been featured in several baseball movies over the years, including ’42’, ‘Cobb,’ and ‘Soul of the Game.’ Now, a whole new generation of fans will be introduced to Rickwood Field, thanks to MLB’s latest plans.
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