Saw my first Sox vs Yankee’s game in 1958 (age 5), never looked back, Early Wynn beat Whitey Ford. The game yesterday was the 2nd greatest feeling since.
Loved the game. Hated The commentators’ incessant chatter about everything except the game in front of them.
I do hope that they schedule a game at the Field of Dreams every year. Actually, I hope MLB schedules a regular rotation of neutral site games in the regular season. Cooperstown is an obvious choice, but why not schedule one-off games in other states that have never had a major league game?
Hollywood could not have scripted a better ending for the game. Biggest drawback was pointed out by Benjamin in that the commentators were a distraction. I went from watching Jeopardy with Joe Buck to a baseball game with Joe Buck. Not fun.
I saw my first Yankees/White Sox game on June 27, 1959. Harry “Suitcase” Simpson hit a grand slam and the Sox won 5-4. The game has generally been acknowledged as the turning point in that magical season. I was all of 10 years old and am forever grateful to my Mom who bought the tickets and took me to the game at Comiskey.
That wasn’t just a ball game, it was an event, it was spectacular, it was fun…
A big win for the White Sox …and MLB.
Even FOX came thru in the clutch, I give FOX a hard time on their sports coverage at times… but that open with Kevin Costner welcoming both teams “from the corn” is pretty cool.
That 9th… Hendricks was over amped. It almost cost the White Sox. Then Anderson… wow.
MLB needs that nostalgia and to take advantage of nights like last night.
Phenomenal game, so glad I watched. The glory of the walk-off home run in the corn, after blowing a three run lead in the ninth, was magnificent. When Zavala walked, my confidence level shot up, knowing who was on deck.
So they spent all that effort to make everything about the game period correct, and then had jets do the flyover. WW I biplanes Fox. Good game though. Terrible announcing but who else was Fox going to use? At least we didn’t have to listen to Troy too.
- James the Intolerant - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:56 am:
Hated to see Hendricks blow the save, but all else was terrific. TA is undoubtedly the leader of the team.
Tremendous game. Camera work was tremendous, just really cool to watch. Some really questionable calls on balls/strikes hurt the Sox and they let it get to them. Anderson’s walk-off was the best way to end a really exciting game. If I never hear Joe Buck call a game again, it will be too soon. Wish I hadn’t had to hear him call the 2005 WS.
When I first heard about it, my first thought was a dubious “really?,” and this is from an Iowa native who grew up seeing every other car with a “Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.” bumper sticker on it.
But I found myself watching the game, texting with brothers and friends that were watching it as well, most of whom don’t follow baseball, and being charmed by it.
The MLB took the “If you build it, they will come” seriously and were richly rewarded for it.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:19 am:
Not to change the subject from last night’s special game, but can the Cubs make it 11 in a row (losses, that is) in Miami this weekend?
“Field of Dreams” isn’t even a top baseball movie for me, but there is something deeply satisfying about home runs landing in corn, and a mostly unobstructed view to the horizon from the outfield.
What a game.
They should rotate the home team between Sox, Cubs, Cards, Brewers, and Twins.
- Collinsville Kevin - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:05 am:
Amazing. Felt healing too, for the Sox, the old Sox, the new team coming out of the corn in the uniform of the old team. If you read the script it is not only appropriate that the home team is the Sox, but that the opponent is the Yankees. There are a few other teams mentioned, but none of them are Cubs, or clearly Brewers or Twins. No future game even with script mentioned teams and at the site will top this as it was so novel, so many surprising elements on and off field. and there are not connects to the script with most teams. LOVE Frank Thomas in the promo dressed as Terence Mann. Also appropriate, a Sox walkoff vs. Yankees. The first Sox walkoff vs the Yankees was July 20, 1919, and it was hit by…you guessed it….Shoeless Joe.
The home runs disappearing into the corn at night reminded me of playing baseball/softball at small town fields in the middle of summer. So overall I’d say thanks Fox for giving us something cool and different to watch when the Cards game was over.
Dude thinks he’s bigger than the game. His intrusions into the All Star Game were unforgivable.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:20 am:
==They should rotate the home team between Sox, Cubs, Cards, Brewers, and Twins.==
You could also put the Royals in there. IIRC if you have MLB Extra Innings in Iowa, six teams (all that you mentioned plus the Royals) are blacked out statewide. In favor of “local” telecasts (albeit Marquee, Comcast Chicago, Bally Sports Midwest for the Cards, and whatever cable networks carry the Royals, Twins, and Crew).
I loved how middle America displayed itself to the world in that game. The fields, the beautiful clear Midwestern sky changing colors as night fell, and of course the miles of corn. etc. etc. The manual scoreboard with the changing score being hung was an extra delight. Even the weather cooperated. We were watching at a small viewing party and everyone commented how much more meaningful this game was this August coming out of the pandemic postponement than if it had just been played as a spectacle in a “regular” year as initially intended. Yes, way too much yapping and in-game interviewing as usual in these special event games, and not a very accurate home plate umpire, but overall–just a wonderful evening of baseball. Thank you MLB and White Sox. Zavala milking that 0-2 count into a walk to set up Timmy’s game winning homer? That’s how our team goes about its business. Goose bumps.
As a kid growing up in Illinois it seemed that every ball diamond was next to a corn field and a railroad track. I loved the corn beyond the fence in the outfield, they should have made the outfielders go find the ball before they could start playing again.
What a great showcase for baseball and the Sox. The Yankees, too, but everyone already knows about them.
I bleed Cardinal red, but they’re gonna be crummy the rest of the year, so I’m on the White Sox Wagon.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:36 am:
===Just can’t stand listening to him===
It’s only going to get worse in a few weeks when the NFL starts and he calls a ton of NFC East games. Despite being the worst division currently in the NFL. Especially the Cowboys. To him it’s almost like the NFC East (and maybe a few others) should be the only teams that exist in the NFL.
Seeing folks that won a ticket lottery turn around and sell their tickets for nearly 10 times the asking price is something I think is worth discussing as it illustrates one of the underlying problems of an event like last nights. We were being spoon fed nostalgia by for profit corporations that created an event where the listed ticket price of $375 an hour would require 52 hours of work at Iowa’s minimum wage before taxes. The resell sites had them going for an average around $1,500.
If that game was representative of what baseball is, I think it’s important to point out how exclusionary and out of reach that experience was for a majority of Americans, even if they had an opportunity to buy the tickets from the lottery. The pricing was such that even life long fans and lovers of baseball found themselves feeling the economic pressure to give up their tickets because the opportunity cost of what people were willing to pay would represent an entire month’s income or more.
It’s a was a nice game, though. I preferred the idea of when that field built in the middle of a corn field by a movie production company was locally owned and used by kids playing little league and for random pick up games when people running for president stopped by.
===The polls may not give Dodd even a percentage point, but walk into the Fort Dodge downtown library or the coffee shop in Storm Lake — or onto a fabled east Iowa cornfield — and the folks quickly take to the candidate.
When his bus reached Dyersville, home of the cornfield/baseball diamond where the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed, the Dodd squad was greeted by owner Becky Lansing, who immediately got the senator, Jackie and their two girls to pose in a porch swing for the cameras and the rapidly growing knot of tourists.
“You’re not in heaven, you’re in Iowa,” a grinning Dodd shouted to the crowd.
Dodd headed for the diamond, got an impromptu at-bat, kept laughing and chattering at no one in particular as he stood at the plate and got walked by the Little League pitcher after working to a 3-and-2 count.
While the candidate played — eventually getting thrown out at third — Jackie played catch with 5 1/2-year-old Grace on a nearby strip of grass. A few feet away, staffers and reporters headed for the gift shop to buy, among other things, $2 vials of official “Field of Dreams” dirt.===
Muted the video and listened to ESPN radio. Since both were being streamed to laptop, the radio was about 1 pitch ahead of the video. Worth dealing with to avoid Joe Buck.
- Because I said so.... - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:01 am:
I was admittedly not super excited about the game, although I am a Sox fan, until the pre-game activities began. I got goosebumps! Great game, great camera work, not a fan of Joe Buck.
I just wish some kudo’s could have been given to the Oak Lawn native, the woman who purchased the field and made this all come about while fighting cancer. Unfortunately she did not live to see her dream become a reality but her late husband made her dream come true. She is a true hero in this Hollywood story.
I find it ironic that so many love the Field of Dreams ballfield and story for its return to simpler times when it was about the game … and then proceed to wish for bigger stadiums, more events, more of everything that kills the game.
I’ve been thinking of Tim as the AL MVP all year, batting average last 3 years, leadoff, clutch hitting with power, important fielding position, attitude, now on a contending team. Since all the baseball writers who vote for the award were almost certainly watching last night and are left with this mental picture of Tim and his walkoff homer, his chances have greatly improved.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:59 am:
If there’s one thing that can unite all Americans, it’s that everybody hates Joe Buck. Eventually someone will run for president on the platform of ridding the country of Mr. Buck.
===Just can’t stand listening to him. Dude thinks he’s bigger than the game==.
As far as Joe Buck on baseball telecasts I completely agree. But I think he does a decent job with football telecasts. So what changes in baseball? The slow pace of the game allows Buck to talk more? Less is more Joe.
Stoney and Jason Benetti talk a lot but they are funny and very informative with Stoney discussing the nuances/strategy of the game and Jason the play by play and analytics.
- Rabid - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 3:45 am:
The sequel was better than the original
- bob - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 4:40 am:
That whole thing is a textbook definition of cool, and what camera work I could feel the cornfield.
- truthteller - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 5:28 am:
Saw my first Sox vs Yankee’s game in 1958 (age 5), never looked back, Early Wynn beat Whitey Ford. The game yesterday was the 2nd greatest feeling since.
- If you build it - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 6:30 am:
What
A
Game
- Benjamin - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:13 am:
Loved the game. Hated The commentators’ incessant chatter about everything except the game in front of them.
I do hope that they schedule a game at the Field of Dreams every year. Actually, I hope MLB schedules a regular rotation of neutral site games in the regular season. Cooperstown is an obvious choice, but why not schedule one-off games in other states that have never had a major league game?
- Nearly Normal - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:30 am:
Hollywood could not have scripted a better ending for the game. Biggest drawback was pointed out by Benjamin in that the commentators were a distraction. I went from watching Jeopardy with Joe Buck to a baseball game with Joe Buck. Not fun.
- Retired SURS Employee - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:35 am:
I saw my first Yankees/White Sox game on June 27, 1959. Harry “Suitcase” Simpson hit a grand slam and the Sox won 5-4. The game has generally been acknowledged as the turning point in that magical season. I was all of 10 years old and am forever grateful to my Mom who bought the tickets and took me to the game at Comiskey.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:36 am:
And… a Walk Off.
It was wow.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
That wasn’t just a ball game, it was an event, it was spectacular, it was fun…
A big win for the White Sox …and MLB.
Even FOX came thru in the clutch, I give FOX a hard time on their sports coverage at times… but that open with Kevin Costner welcoming both teams “from the corn” is pretty cool.
That 9th… Hendricks was over amped. It almost cost the White Sox. Then Anderson… wow.
MLB needs that nostalgia and to take advantage of nights like last night.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:43 am:
Phenomenal game, so glad I watched. The glory of the walk-off home run in the corn, after blowing a three run lead in the ninth, was magnificent. When Zavala walked, my confidence level shot up, knowing who was on deck.
- Captain Obvious - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:51 am:
So they spent all that effort to make everything about the game period correct, and then had jets do the flyover. WW I biplanes Fox. Good game though. Terrible announcing but who else was Fox going to use? At least we didn’t have to listen to Troy too.
- James the Intolerant - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:56 am:
Hated to see Hendricks blow the save, but all else was terrific. TA is undoubtedly the leader of the team.
- Oxfordian - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:57 am:
Tremendous game. Camera work was tremendous, just really cool to watch. Some really questionable calls on balls/strikes hurt the Sox and they let it get to them. Anderson’s walk-off was the best way to end a really exciting game. If I never hear Joe Buck call a game again, it will be too soon. Wish I hadn’t had to hear him call the 2005 WS.
- Montrose - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 7:58 am:
When I first heard about it, my first thought was a dubious “really?,” and this is from an Iowa native who grew up seeing every other car with a “Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.” bumper sticker on it.
But I found myself watching the game, texting with brothers and friends that were watching it as well, most of whom don’t follow baseball, and being charmed by it.
The MLB took the “If you build it, they will come” seriously and were richly rewarded for it.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:19 am:
Not to change the subject from last night’s special game, but can the Cubs make it 11 in a row (losses, that is) in Miami this weekend?
- JS Mill - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:37 am:
I was not thrilled when they announced this game. Boy was I wrong.
Great game, excellent production. Would love to had Stoney and Jason Benetti calling the game.
- OneMan - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:38 am:
They should have had SAP options for the White Sox crew, the Yankees crew, and a Vin Scully calling the game.
- The Magnificent Purple Wombat - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:43 am:
Sports guy on WGN called it a “Stalk off Homer”. Great game. Truthteller, Wynn did not beat the Yankees in ‘58. 0-5.
- ChicagoVinny - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 8:46 am:
“Field of Dreams” isn’t even a top baseball movie for me, but there is something deeply satisfying about home runs landing in corn, and a mostly unobstructed view to the horizon from the outfield.
What a game.
They should rotate the home team between Sox, Cubs, Cards, Brewers, and Twins.
- Collinsville Kevin - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:05 am:
Let’s Go Cubs.
- Jocko - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:08 am:
Not to nitpick, but the home plate umpire needs glasses. It’s past time to let computers call balls and strikes.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:10 am:
Riveting game. Shame they couldn’t lose Joe Buck in the corn maze though. Just can’t stand listening to him
- Amalia - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:11 am:
Amazing. Felt healing too, for the Sox, the old Sox, the new team coming out of the corn in the uniform of the old team. If you read the script it is not only appropriate that the home team is the Sox, but that the opponent is the Yankees. There are a few other teams mentioned, but none of them are Cubs, or clearly Brewers or Twins. No future game even with script mentioned teams and at the site will top this as it was so novel, so many surprising elements on and off field. and there are not connects to the script with most teams. LOVE Frank Thomas in the promo dressed as Terence Mann. Also appropriate, a Sox walkoff vs. Yankees. The first Sox walkoff vs the Yankees was July 20, 1919, and it was hit by…you guessed it….Shoeless Joe.
- Captain Obvious - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:14 am:
The home runs disappearing into the corn at night reminded me of playing baseball/softball at small town fields in the middle of summer. So overall I’d say thanks Fox for giving us something cool and different to watch when the Cards game was over.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:16 am:
===Just can’t stand listening to him===
Dude thinks he’s bigger than the game. His intrusions into the All Star Game were unforgivable.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:20 am:
==They should rotate the home team between Sox, Cubs, Cards, Brewers, and Twins.==
You could also put the Royals in there. IIRC if you have MLB Extra Innings in Iowa, six teams (all that you mentioned plus the Royals) are blacked out statewide. In favor of “local” telecasts (albeit Marquee, Comcast Chicago, Bally Sports Midwest for the Cards, and whatever cable networks carry the Royals, Twins, and Crew).
- Responsa - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:24 am:
I loved how middle America displayed itself to the world in that game. The fields, the beautiful clear Midwestern sky changing colors as night fell, and of course the miles of corn. etc. etc. The manual scoreboard with the changing score being hung was an extra delight. Even the weather cooperated. We were watching at a small viewing party and everyone commented how much more meaningful this game was this August coming out of the pandemic postponement than if it had just been played as a spectacle in a “regular” year as initially intended. Yes, way too much yapping and in-game interviewing as usual in these special event games, and not a very accurate home plate umpire, but overall–just a wonderful evening of baseball. Thank you MLB and White Sox. Zavala milking that 0-2 count into a walk to set up Timmy’s game winning homer? That’s how our team goes about its business. Goose bumps.
- Stooges - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:25 am:
As a kid growing up in Illinois it seemed that every ball diamond was next to a corn field and a railroad track. I loved the corn beyond the fence in the outfield, they should have made the outfielders go find the ball before they could start playing again.
- Steve Rogers - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:29 am:
Started off with goose bumps with Kevin Costner and the teams coming out of the corn, then ended with goose bumps with the walk-off into the corn.
- Arsenal - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:34 am:
==Dude thinks he’s bigger than the game.==
His best moment calling a baseball game was in the ‘11 World Series, where he just quoted his dad. You’d think he’d learn from that.
- Arsenal - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:35 am:
What a great showcase for baseball and the Sox. The Yankees, too, but everyone already knows about them.
I bleed Cardinal red, but they’re gonna be crummy the rest of the year, so I’m on the White Sox Wagon.
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:36 am:
===Just can’t stand listening to him===
It’s only going to get worse in a few weeks when the NFL starts and he calls a ton of NFC East games. Despite being the worst division currently in the NFL. Especially the Cowboys. To him it’s almost like the NFC East (and maybe a few others) should be the only teams that exist in the NFL.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:43 am:
Seeing folks that won a ticket lottery turn around and sell their tickets for nearly 10 times the asking price is something I think is worth discussing as it illustrates one of the underlying problems of an event like last nights. We were being spoon fed nostalgia by for profit corporations that created an event where the listed ticket price of $375 an hour would require 52 hours of work at Iowa’s minimum wage before taxes. The resell sites had them going for an average around $1,500.
If that game was representative of what baseball is, I think it’s important to point out how exclusionary and out of reach that experience was for a majority of Americans, even if they had an opportunity to buy the tickets from the lottery. The pricing was such that even life long fans and lovers of baseball found themselves feeling the economic pressure to give up their tickets because the opportunity cost of what people were willing to pay would represent an entire month’s income or more.
It’s a was a nice game, though. I preferred the idea of when that field built in the middle of a corn field by a movie production company was locally owned and used by kids playing little league and for random pick up games when people running for president stopped by.
===The polls may not give Dodd even a percentage point, but walk into the Fort Dodge downtown library or the coffee shop in Storm Lake — or onto a fabled east Iowa cornfield — and the folks quickly take to the candidate.
When his bus reached Dyersville, home of the cornfield/baseball diamond where the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed, the Dodd squad was greeted by owner Becky Lansing, who immediately got the senator, Jackie and their two girls to pose in a porch swing for the cameras and the rapidly growing knot of tourists.
“You’re not in heaven, you’re in Iowa,” a grinning Dodd shouted to the crowd.
Dodd headed for the diamond, got an impromptu at-bat, kept laughing and chattering at no one in particular as he stood at the plate and got walked by the Little League pitcher after working to a 3-and-2 count.
While the candidate played — eventually getting thrown out at third — Jackie played catch with 5 1/2-year-old Grace on a nearby strip of grass. A few feet away, staffers and reporters headed for the gift shop to buy, among other things, $2 vials of official “Field of Dreams” dirt.===
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-xpm-2007-07-19-hc-dodd-joy-ride-0719-story.html
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 9:54 am:
===Just can’t stand listening to him===
Muted the video and listened to ESPN radio. Since both were being streamed to laptop, the radio was about 1 pitch ahead of the video. Worth dealing with to avoid Joe Buck.
- Because I said so.... - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:01 am:
I was admittedly not super excited about the game, although I am a Sox fan, until the pre-game activities began. I got goosebumps! Great game, great camera work, not a fan of Joe Buck.
I just wish some kudo’s could have been given to the Oak Lawn native, the woman who purchased the field and made this all come about while fighting cancer. Unfortunately she did not live to see her dream become a reality but her late husband made her dream come true. She is a true hero in this Hollywood story.
- H-W - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:07 am:
I saw our National Pastime playing out before us again. Such a peaceful moment of joy.
- Morningstar - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:19 am:
I find it ironic that so many love the Field of Dreams ballfield and story for its return to simpler times when it was about the game … and then proceed to wish for bigger stadiums, more events, more of everything that kills the game.
- James - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:31 am:
I’ve been thinking of Tim as the AL MVP all year, batting average last 3 years, leadoff, clutch hitting with power, important fielding position, attitude, now on a contending team. Since all the baseball writers who vote for the award were almost certainly watching last night and are left with this mental picture of Tim and his walkoff homer, his chances have greatly improved.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 10:59 am:
If there’s one thing that can unite all Americans, it’s that everybody hates Joe Buck. Eventually someone will run for president on the platform of ridding the country of Mr. Buck.
- Big Jer - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 11:31 am:
===Just can’t stand listening to him. Dude thinks he’s bigger than the game==.
As far as Joe Buck on baseball telecasts I completely agree. But I think he does a decent job with football telecasts. So what changes in baseball? The slow pace of the game allows Buck to talk more? Less is more Joe.
Stoney and Jason Benetti talk a lot but they are funny and very informative with Stoney discussing the nuances/strategy of the game and Jason the play by play and analytics.
- A Guy - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 12:33 pm:
Poetic
- Keyrock - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 12:56 pm:
Great game; worthy ending. The pregame, promos, and broadcast all paid disproportionate attention to the Yankees.
- doofusguy - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 1:14 pm:
Loved watching it - especially on the big screen at a local bar with no sound on - solved the Joe Buck issue for me
- Chicago Blue - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 2:04 pm:
How about those Cubbies? LOL Can they pass the 85% vaccinated rate and take off their masks now that Rizzo and Arrieta are gone?
- EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 13, 21 @ 3:00 pm:
Are there new types of masks being worn at the Cub games yet? Especially after the past 4 days? The paper sack kinds?