Field of Dreams game produces perfect ending for a Hollywood film

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (Gray News) - The ending to Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game ended with a climax that a screenwriter would dream of.

MLB already knew the Field of Dreams game would be a success, as a sold-out crowd in Iowa watched the game paying homage to the 1989 Academy Award-nominated film starring Kevin Costner.

Viewers lauded over the pregame ceremonies featuring Costner and players with the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox walking out of the cornfields used in the filming of the movie.

Costner even alluded to one of the famous quotes from the film when addressing the nearly 8,000 who attended in the small Iowa city of Dyersville, which has a population of a little more than 4,000.

“Is this heaven?” Costner asked, replying, “Yes it is.”

While MLB thought it had already hit a home run with the production of this event, the Field of Dreams game turned out to be a grand slam with the way the game played out.

Star Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge smashed his 24th and 25th home runs in the high-scoring affair, including a two-run blast in the 9th inning to get his team within one run of Chicago.

Giancarlo Stanton would follow up with another two-run blast to give the Yankees an unlikely lead, coming back from a three-run deficit.

The Yankees’ comeback was exciting enough, but the White Sox weren’t ready to roll the credits.

Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson stepped to the plate as the potential go-ahead run in what would be a walk-off for the ages, and he didn’t disappoint.

Anderson, who admitted before Thursday’s game he never watched “Field of Dreams,” concluded the game with the home run into the Iowa corn to win the game 9-8.

“The fans came to see a show, and we gave them a show,” Anderson said.

Copyright 2021 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.