| MLB at Field of Dreams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | Field of Dreams |
| Location | Dyersville, Iowa |
| Years active | 2021–2022, 2026- |
| Inaugurated | 2021 |
| Previous event | August 11, 2022 |
| Next event | Phillies vs. Twins 2026 |
| Organized by | Major League Baseball |
| Sponsor | GEICO |
MLB at Field of Dreams is a recurringMajor League Baseball (MLB) regular-seasonspecialty game played in a ballpark adjacent toField of Dreams inDyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball filmField of Dreams. The first edition of the game was played on August 12, 2021, with theChicago White Sox defeating theNew York Yankees, 9–8. The second edition of the game was played on August 11, 2022, with theChicago Cubs defeating theCincinnati Reds, 4–2. Both games were held on the second Thursday of August.
On August 24, 2025, MLB announced plans for the 2026 game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins. The game will take place during the series between the teams from August 14-16, 2026.
The first edition of the game was planned for August 13, 2020, with theChicago White Sox facing theNew York Yankees.[1] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, MLB implemented a shortened 2020 season that limited games played to each team's division and the opposite league's geographically equal division to reduce travel. Hence, on July 1, MLB announced that theSt. Louis Cardinals would replace the Yankees for the game.[2] After several St. Louis players and coaches tested positive for COVID-19 in late July, MLB postponed several Cardinals games, eventually leading the league to announce on August 3 that the MLB at Field of Dreams game would be postponed to the 2021 season.[3] In November 2020, MLB announced the 2021 game date and that the contest would feature the originally planned participants, the White Sox and Yankees.[4]
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The game is hosted inDyersville, Iowa, near the filming location of thetitular 1989 baseball movie. The field constructed for the movie, which has been operated as a tourist destination since 1989, could not be brought to MLB game standards without permanently altering major features of the property and destroying its movie authenticity, so it was decided to build a separate playing facility at a distance of approximately 500 ft (150 m) in the cornfields. The new field is in the property of the Ameskamp family, who used to own the left and center field of the 1988 Field of Dreams (the rest was owned by the Lansing family) before selling it to the Lansing family in 2007.
The design of the ballpark pays homage to the White Sox' home from 1910 to 1990,Comiskey Park, including the shape of the outfield and thebullpens beyond the center field fence. Windows were included in the design of the right field wall to show the cornfields beyond the ballpark and to provide views of the movie set.[5][1]
Following postponement of the originally scheduled game, the field remainedfallow during the 2020 season.[6] During the 2021 season, many of the temporary structures that were intended for MLB at Field of Dreams were moved toSahlen Field inBuffalo, New York, to allow thatTriple-A ballpark to accommodate theToronto Blue Jays.[7][8] In late June 2021, a news report byKTIV ofSioux City, Iowa, showed that the baseball field and lights were in place for MLB at Field of Dreams, but seating had not yet been erected.[9]
| Season | Date | Visitor | Home team | Attendance | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | August 12 | New York Yankees | 8 | Chicago White Sox | 9 | 7,832 | [10] |
| 2022 | August 11 | Chicago Cubs | 4 | Cincinnati Reds | 2 | 7,823 | [11] |
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| Date | August 12, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Field of Dreams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Dyersville, IA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | HP:Pat Hoberg 1B:Laz Diaz 2B:Mike Estabrook 3B:Jeff Nelson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 7,832 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time of game | 6:15 p.m.CDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | Fox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck (play-by-play) John Smoltz (analyst) Ken Rosenthal (reporter) Tom Verducci (reporter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On August 9, it was revealed thatIowa nativePat Hoberg would be the home plate umpire for the game.[12] The White Sox and Yankees both wore throwback uniforms resembling those worn during the1919 Major League Baseball season.[13][14] Prior to the game, a pregame ceremony was conducted, during whichKevin Costner led players from both teams onto the field from the corn, in tribute to an iconic scene which occurs in the film whileMaddie Poppe sang the national anthem.[15] Bench coachMiguel Cairo managed the White Sox as managerTony La Russa was unavailable due to a family funeral.[16] This was the first MLB game played in the state of Iowa.[1] The game was called byJoe Buck (play by play),John Smoltz (analyst),Ken Rosenthal (field reporter), andTom Verducci (field reporter) onFox.
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Fox's broadcast of the full ninth inning onYouTube (uploaded by Major League Baseball) |
The early game was defined by strikeouts, with four fromLance Lynn and three fromAndrew Heaney through the first two innings. The first scoring was a home run over the left field fence byJosé Abreu in the bottom of the first inning, the first ever major league home run hit in the state of Iowa.[17] From the third inning on, the game was described as a slugfest with home runs byAaron Judge in the top of the third,Eloy Jiménez in the bottom of the third,Seby Zavala in the bottom of the fourth, andBrett Gardner in the top of the sixth.[18][19] In the game, there was eight total home runs hit into the cornfield. Heading into the ninth inning, the White Sox led 7–4. The Yankees then rallied ahead with a pair of two-out, two-run home runs by Aaron Judge, his second of the night, andGiancarlo Stanton, both off ofLiam Hendriks, to put them ahead of the White Sox by one run. After a ground out by pinch hitterDanny Mendick and a walk toSeby Zavala, the game ended with awalk-off two-run homer hit byTim Anderson off ofZack Britton, giving the White Sox the 9–8 win. The homer was the 15th walk-off home run against the Yankees in White Sox history; the first was hit byShoeless Joe Jackson on July 20, 1919,[20] a fictional version of whom features heavily in theField of Dreams film.[21]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago White Sox | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Liam Hendriks (7–2) LP:Zack Britton (0–1) Home runs: NYY:Aaron Judge 2 (25),Brett Gardner (5),Giancarlo Stanton (18) CWS:José Abreu (23),Eloy Jiménez (6),Seby Zavala (4),Tim Anderson (13) Attendance: 7,832 Time: 3:29 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fans and media personalities alike responded positively to the presentation of the game, which drew the highest ratings for a regular-season telecast onFox at 5.9 million viewers since aYankees–Red Sox contest on October 1, 2005.[22][23]Len Kasper, who called the game on radio for the White Sox, commented that "I'm not really sure MLB could have done an event better than the Field of Dreams Game. Yes, the game was bonkers and the finish wasOscar worthy, but the entire thing—the scenery, the park, the weather, the people involved, the vibe—it was just perfect. Unforgettable experience."[24]
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| Date | August 11, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Field of Dreams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Dyersville, IA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | HP:John Tumpane 1B:Adrian Johnson 2B:Marvin Hudson 3B:Ryan Blakney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 7,823 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time of game | 6:15 p.m. CDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | Fox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Davis (play-by-play) John Smoltz (analyst) Ken Rosenthal (reporter) Tom Verducci (reporter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shortly before the 2021 game,Commissioner of BaseballRob Manfred confirmed that there would be another game at the Field of Dreams during 2022, likely during August, but did not identify which teams would be playing.[25] MLB later announced that theCincinnati Reds would play theChicago Cubs at the site on August 11, 2022, with Cincinnati as the designated home team in the game.[26] Retro-style uniforms for the teams were revealed on August 8, with the Reds' uniforms matching what the team wore in the1919 World Series.[27] Pre-game ceremonies began withKen Griffey Sr. andKen Griffey Jr. playing catch, followed by the Cubs and Reds walking in from the cornfield beyond centerfield along with multiple members of theNational Baseball Hall of Fame—Johnny Bench,Andre Dawson,Ferguson Jenkins,Barry Larkin,Ryne Sandberg, andBilly Williams—and aceremonial first pitch from Jenkins to Bench.[28] The national anthem was sung by country singerJessie James Decker.John Smoltz (analyst),Ken Rosenthal (field reporter), andTom Verducci (field reporter) return to call the game withJoe Davis (play by play) calling now as the lead announcer forFox.
Drew Smyly recorded the pitching victory for the Cubs, lasting five innings with nine strikeouts and four hits allowed. The Reds only mustered two runs, in the bottom of the seventh inning, all while having two runners on base in three separate innings and with a total of eight runnersleft on base.[29] Cincinnati second basemanJonathan India left the contest after the third inning, due to a contusion on his left leg from beinghit by a pitch in the first inning; his injury later required an emergency helicopter flight to anIowa City hospital.[30] Chicago catcherWillson Contreras rolled his ankle rounding second base in the third inning, but remained in the game.[31]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Drew Smyly (5–6) LP:Nick Lodolo (3–3) Sv:Rowan Wick (7) Attendance: 7,823 Time: 3:21 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | August 9, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Field of Dreams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Dyersville, IA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time of game | 6:00 p.m. CDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | MLB Network | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Greg Amsinger (play-by-play) Harold Reynolds (analyst) Jon Morosi (reporter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On April 21, 2022,Minor League Baseball (MiLB) announced the inaugural MiLB at Field of Dreams game, aHigh-A contest in Dyersville between teams of theMidwest League.[32] On August 9, theQuad Cities River Bandits hosted and defeated theCedar Rapids Kernels, 7–2.[33] The teams used historical franchise names for the contest,Davenport Blue Sox andCedar Rapids Bunnies, respectively.[32]
MLB did not host a game at the ballpark in 2023 due to construction around the site.[34] Future plans include converting the site into a youth baseball and softball complex that one day would also have a hotel.[35] Iowa GovernorKim Reynolds confirmed that there will be another round of public funding to build a permanent stadium at the site.[36] Former MLB playerFrank Thomas, who is part of the group that owns the property, did not rule out the possibility of future MLB games at the site after 2023.[37]
In 2024, there was asimilar game between theSan Francisco Giants andSt. Louis Cardinals held atRickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.[38] Asimilar game was played atBristol Motor Speedway inBristol, Tennessee in 2025 between theCincinnati Reds andAtlanta Braves.
The next game at the Field of Dreams will take place during one of the games in the series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins from August 14-16, 2026.
Since its inception, the game has been broadcast byFox as part of theirThursday Night Baseball telecasts.
| Season | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst | Field Reporter(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Fox | Joe Buck | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal Tom Verducci | [39] |
| 2022 | Joe Davis | [40] |
42°29′56″N91°03′26″W / 42.498889°N 91.0571°W /42.498889; -91.0571