MLB: 2024 Field of Dreams Game To Be Played... In Birmingham?

[1UNI2ISU]

My understanding is that it will be in the same place on the calendar but won't be called the Field of Dreams game.

The name will have some kind of reference to Willie Mays.

 

[Cyhig]

I like the idea of MLB visiting different famous/historic sites. The MLB at Field of Dreams game isn’t new anymore, and fan interest isn’t the same as it was when the first game was played. But I think MLB would be smart to start an annual rotation for these historic sites. And they should simply rename the game “American Baseball Classic Game”

 

[Sigmapolis]

I like the idea of MLB visiting different famous/historic sites. The MLB at Field of Dreams game isn’t new anymore, and fan interest isn’t the same as it was when the first game was played. But I think MLB would be smart to start an annual rotation for these historic sites. And they should simply rename the game “American Baseball Classic Game”

The NHL has done well by rotating the Winter Classic between cities/stadiums.

Playing a game that honors an old Negro League team is a classy touch by the MLB, too.

I wish there was more of that (e.g., the Washington Nationals should have been the Washington Grays).

 

[CtownCyclone]

Gulf Shores is 4.5 hours away. I'd call it the Vulcan Classic!

View attachment 113715

Moon over Homewood!

 

[BCClone]

Article says the field of dreams is under construction. Kinda dumb timing because it sounds like that is a reason it’s not there this year. You don’t want them moving it around or you will end up losing it.

 

[pourcyne]

Move it to Iowa Park, Texas. Problem solved.

Iowa Park, Texas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[pourcyne]

Or Des Moines, Washington.

Des Moines, Washington - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Gunnerclone]

Iowa doesn't have much. The Field of Dreams is something we have, it's recognized globally. Calling a ballpark in Alabama the Field of Dreams is just stupid IMO.

LOL.

 

[pourcyne]

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel Shoeless Joe.

Shoeless Joe is a 1982 magic realist novel by Canadian author W. P. Kinsella that was later adapted into the 1989 film Field of Dreams, which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

The novel was expanded from Kinsella's short story "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa", first published in his 1980 collection of the same name. Kinsella first developed the idea for the story while attending the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and decided to incorporate the stories he told about the Black Sox Scandal, imagining if Shoeless Joe Jackson came back to the same city Kinsella was living in, Iowa City. [Wikipedia]

***

Looks to me as if Iowa City should sue Dyersville.

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

Agree. Field of Dreams is a great movie and site, but given that it was pro players from the 1920s, there weren't any African-American players. So to stage a game at such a significant stadium in the history of the Negro Leagues and call it the "Field of Dreams" is just wrong.

You guys are acting like the "Field of Dreams" movie was some sort of historical event. I'm sure the Negro-league players who played at Rickwood Field had dreams too. I too think it would be cool to honor Josh Gibson or Satchel Paige, for example, but it's just a name. Iowans need to get over themselves.

 

[mj4cy]

Surprised the Field of Dreams folks in Iowa aren't pushing/suing to get the name changed. The point of that name is a damn field in IOWA.

 

[BMWallace]

With it moving to Rickwood, the game should be named in homage to the Negro League. Also, the teams should wear jerseys styled after the Black Barons and the Monarchs.

 

[JM4CY]

Article says the field of dreams is under construction. Kinda dumb timing because it sounds like that is a reason it’s not there this year. You don’t want them moving it around or you will end up losing it.

This. Blame frank Thomas for that.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Gulf Shores is 4.5 hours away. I'd call it the Vulcan Classic!

View attachment 113715

 

[Beernuts]

Perhaps they should host the game in the Bancroft Memorial Park. It's like walking back in time when you enter. What are some other great baseball parks in iowa?

 

[Gonzo]

You guys are acting like the "Field of Dreams" movie was some sort of historical event. I'm sure the Negro-league players who played at Rickwood Field had dreams too. I too think it would be cool to honor Josh Gibson or Satchel Paige, for example, but it's just a name. Iowans need to get over themselves.

Well it is a pretty historical movie, and it is an actual destination in Dyersville that's visited by tourists from around the world every year. I don't think anyone is saying the Negro League players and Rickwood Field shouldn't be honored by hosting the same type of MLB game/event. I'm just saying it's silly to call it the "Field of Dreams".

 

[Cyientist]

I think it was a pipe dream to be able to recreate the nostalgia behind the Field of Dreams game in Iowa for more than a few years. I think this is a cool opportunity, maybe it could kick off a series of baseball movies that can help make a movie from the 80s still feel relevant by expanding the genre.

 

[HFCS]

Agree. Field of Dreams is a great movie and site, but given that it was pro players from the 1920s, there weren't any African-American players. So to stage a game at such a significant stadium in the history of the Negro Leagues and call it the "Field of Dreams" is just wrong.

It could be really cool to focus on that aspect.

I think a lot of things would be better if they were every other year or every fourth year. Interest in the Olympics would tank if it was every year.

 

[JD720]

Surprised the Field of Dreams folks in Iowa aren't pushing/suing to get the name changed. The point of that name is a damn field in IOWA.

If "Field of Dreams" is protected by trademark or copyright (I'm not sure which would apply), I doubt it's owned by anyone in Dyersville. It's either free to use or it's owned by someone related to the movie and they probably wouldn't care if it's in Dyersville or Birmingham.

 

[BCClone]

Perhaps they should host the game in the Bancroft Memorial Park. It's like walking back in time when you enter. What are some other great baseball parks in iowa?

View attachment 113724

I hate going there every year. It was neat 40 years ago. Now it’s an outdated sweat box.