Like most baseball-loving kids, Aaron Judge watched “Field of Dreams” as a youngster. Little did he know, a few decades later he would get to grace the diamond near where Kevin Costner shot the iconic 1989 film in the Iowa cornfields.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” the Yankees outfielder said over Zoom on Wednesday, following a 5-2, series-clinching victory over the Royals. “You never think you’ll get a chance to play at the Field of Dreams. But getting this opportunity, the chance to walk through the corn, it’s going to be a big moment, a special moment.”
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Judge’s teammates and manager echoed that sentiment, that this game against the White Sox —whose 1919 Black Sox team figured prominently in the movie — Thursday night will be unlike any other they play this season. It will be played at an 7,911-seat stadium that was built just north of where the movie was shot. The original field is a tourist attraction. A corn maze was constructed outside the outfield walls and a path connects the two fields. The dimensions are similar to that of old Comiskey Park, where the White Sox played from 1910-90. Both teams will wear throwback uniforms based on their 1919 threads, adding to the game’s nostalgic tenor.
Reliever Chad Green said his teammates have been talking about it for the last week, excitedly chatting about the opportunity that awaits them in Dyersville, Iowa. The game was supposed to be played last season, but it was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s going to be kind of cool to do the whole experience,” Green said. “Take a tour of the field and see the house and just kind of take it all in. Guys are definitely looking forward to going there.”
Aaron Boone has gotten to experience a few of these novelties. First, as a manager when the Yankees played the Red Sox in London in 2019. Then, as a broadcaster, he got to call a game for ESPN in 2016 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and also was able to call the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. He always dreamed as a kid of getting there as a player.
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“To see it was pretty cool,” Boone said. “Field of Dreams will be similar to that.”
Judge only has one problem with the special event. After Thursday, the two teams have a day off, then resume the series in Chicago on Saturday.
“I wish we were playing three games there,” he said. “Everyone’s putting in all this work building the stadium, doing what they need to do, and it’s all for one game. But I know everyone in this clubhouse is excited for it.”