The intro to MLB's Field of Dreams Game was a masterclass in nostalgia
No sport is more steeped in nostalgia than baseball, and no movie is more tied to baseball's nostalgia than "Field of Dreams."
The 1989 Kevin Costner classic placed baseball on a mythical pedestal, examining fatherhood, dreams and hero worship in an Iowa cornfield turned ballpark. And it was that exact cornfield that MLB revisited 32 years later, trying to bring that mythos to one of its own games. For the most part, the league stuck the landing, even if it did provide the people who habitually roll their eyes at the movie plenty more material to mock.
The highly anticipated Field of Dreams Game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox saw Costner make an emotional return to that filming location, followed by a powerful visual of the players entering the field via cornfield, just like the movie:
This entrance is everything. #MLBatFieldofDreams pic.twitter.com/ve6Q0Rmuff
— MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2021
The league followed that entrance with a speech from Costner and even more visuals of the converted ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa.
"On the other side of that corn we filmed a movie that stood the test of time. Tonight, thanks to that enduring impact that that little movie had, it's allowed us to come here again."
Kevin Costner with a fantastic speech before today's game 🙏
📺: #MLBatFieldofDreams pic.twitter.com/JdbHX8QJPn— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 12, 2021
The whole spectacle drew rave reviews from its target market: baseball fans looking for the kind of emotions that "Field of Dreams" gave them when they were younger. It's not often you see tweets like this about a regular season game in August:
I am an unabashed sucker for “Field of Dreams” and I love everything about this.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 12, 2021
The Field of Dreams opening has exceeded my expectations. Very well done.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 12, 2021
Kevin Costner tells the crowd: “It’s perfect.” And he’s right. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 12, 2021
This gave me nothing but chills and a really big smile. The coolest damn thing. #MLBatFieldofDreams https://t.co/6EwqmAjyED
— Samantha Rivera (@JSamanthaRivera) August 12, 2021
That intro had to give you chills, which is good because it's rather hot here.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 12, 2021
Players coming out of the corn field is both cheesy and awesome.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) August 12, 2021
I’m not crying while holding my 9-month-old son during the Field of Dreams Game intro. You are.
— Jacob Unruh (@jacobunruh) August 12, 2021
This is so great. Goosebumps right now. Costner, the music, the entrance of the players through the corn field. My favorite baseball movie. #FieldOfDreamsGame
— Andre Fernandez (@FernandezAndreC) August 12, 2021
This Field of Dreams Game entrance is both all kinds of cheesy and my fave thing I’ve seen on a baseball field in a minute
— Kara Richey (@Kara_Richey) August 12, 2021
The Yankees and White Sox would deliver a game worthy of the setting. The Yankees erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning with home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, only for Tim Anderson to respond with a walk-off homer to give the White Sox a dramatic 9-8 win.
Anderson's homer was the 15th homer ever hit by a White Sox player against the Yankees. The first to do so?
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