That’s the best MLB could do? The Field of Dreams Game is meant to be unique, nostalgic — and above all, it's meant to give us an intriguing matchup featuring two top-tier teams on a singular stage. But instead, we’re getting the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Minnesota Twins. You can’t get any more random than this; what is it, The Nick Punto Invitational?
At least the two teams are contending. Far away geographically, historically and in all other ways you’d look to in order to come up with a unique face-to-face in the cornstalks of Iowa, this is far from the dream matchup. The Phillies are a historic organization, and yet a weak early history had them overlooked in the film Field of Dreams entirely. The Twins weren’t even around in the days the film highlighted; they were in Washington until 1961.
If MLB had thought this through a little better, maybe we could have had at least one of the teams below make an appearance.
Chicago White Sox
You can’t think Field of Dreams without thinking of the White Sox — er, um, the Black Sox. Whatever you want to call them. The film centers around Shoeless Joe Jackson, and given the proximity to Iowa, there’s enough of a reason to get the South Siders there.
What’s more, based on the season the White Sox are having, the underdog story feels ripped right out of a Hollywood film. The little team everyone doubted solidifying their place in the AL playoff picture against even just a division rival in Minnesota would have made this a more compelling game. The very first Field of Dreams Game featured Chicago against the New York Yankees, and that ended in a Tim Anderson walkoff. Would it be so awful to make this a very specific regional thing?
Chicago Cubs
The visiting team for the second-ever Field of Dreams Game, the Chicago Cubs hosting against the crosstown rival White Sox would have been one of the best matchups possible. They play each other every year anyway, so why not work around it?
Hilariously, the Cubs host the White Sox beginning on Aug. 17, just a few days later. Rather than see Pete Crow-Armstrong track down fly balls in front of the corn or Jordan Hicks throw a ball so hard it literally pushes us back to 1919, the two Windy City teams have to play another game at Wrigley.
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox have plenty of history and have also become one of the unexpectedly awesome stories in baseball this year. Written off early, the firing of Alex Cora seemed to fix whatever was ailing the club — whether he was actually the problem or not. Put this historically relevant team against the White Sox, Cubs or anyone else, and we already have a more impressive matchup than Phillies vs. Twins.
With all that’s at stake for Boston, an AL Wild Card berth looking most realistic, a mid-August game with their Thursday starter Payton Tolle on the hill would have been epic. The mustache is retro. The performance can be memorable. And hey, the movie even goes to Fenway!
Milwaukee Brewers
If you wanted another team with a location close enough to Iowa, why not the Milwaukee Brewers? MLB had to know they were going to be competitive this year, and an exciting team that doesn’t overly depend on home runs would have reminded casual viewers there is more than one way to win.
Jacob Misiorowski would have been the unquestioned No. 1 choice to pitch in this game. Projected pitch next on Saturday, though, this hypothetical does raise another question: Why only one game in Dyersville? If teams can go overseas and play a pair in which each swaps a turn as the host club (so as to not hurt attendance revenues), couldn’t the Field of Dreams Game offer us at least a two-game set?
Cleveland Guardians
After internally debating who the best fifth team would be, the conclusion was to stick with what inspired this event in the first place: movies. The Los Angeles Dodgers can go to Japan and have their Mr. Baseball Day with Tom Selleck throwing out the first pitch. Leave the Field of Dreams Game to keep it as Midwestern as we can, and that means inviting the Cleveland Guardians.
A unique team that isn’t much different from the Brewers in the way they want to compete, Cleveland would be another fascinating team to include here. It might require a more well-recognized and dominant club to convince everyone to watch. But if the league pitched this as a Field of Dreams vs. Major League event, starting with a home run derby between Kevin Costner and Charlie Sheen, you might never put an end to the number of pre-game gimmicks.
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