Field of Dreams, a movie released in 1989 and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, is a pillar in the baseball fandom of a generation. The Costner picture captured the mysticism that makes this sport different, showing both the nostalgic and bucolic nature of playing ball in a corn field in a fly-over state. The movie brings back to life the Chicago White Sox of over a hundred years ago, but it is players in today’s game that have a strong connection with it, such as Joey Votto.
A game like no other, for the second time
It is the second year in a row that MLB will play at a baseball field located in the set where the movie was filmed, after the original Yankees-White Sox matchup took place in 2021. This time around, it will be the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, two historic teams despite not being part of the original film, who will play one of their regular season games away from both of their home stadiums. MLB has prepared special uniforms and events surrounding the game, but just getting to play there is special enough for some of the players involved.
Joey Votto’s connection with Field of Dreams
Just a couple of days before getting to play in the game, veteran Reds infielder Joey Votto shared his thoughts about the occasion and what it means to him.
Votto focused on how the movie, which was important during his childhood, connected with him both in content and feelings. “I was raised on this movie. My family had a collection of VHS tapes and one of them was Field of Dreams. I would watch it often.” Warning: spoilers ahead. “From eight or nine years old, my father and I would play catch together. In retrospect, to me, it was the most important thing we did together. It strengthened our bond. In Field of Dreams, the movie ends with the main character, Ray, and the ghost of his father having ‘a catch’. My father passed away 14+ years ago. So it is impossible for me not to feel an emotional connection to the moment where Ray asks his father for a catch. One more moment together.”
He concluded by showing how important it is for him to go back to those ideas in the same place where the movie took place: “Getting the opportunity to play a game at the mythical field that sowed the seeds of hope for a Major League Baseball career is a significant moment for me. Couple that with the father/son connection, and this game is an exceptional moment in my life.”
As MLB.com has shown, he is not the only player for whom this will be one of the most important games ever, even for young players such as Votto’s teammate Jonathan India. The Reds-Cubs game will be played on August 11.