DYERSVILLE, Iowa (RFD News) — Major League Baseball returned to the famous Field of Dreams site Thursday night, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins facing off in the first MLB game played at the site’s new permanent ballpark.
MLB Senior Vice President of Global Operations and Events Jeremiah Yolkut said the chance to play at the Field of Dreams has become something special for players.
“The uniqueness of playing at the field of dreams is something that not every player is going to get to do, and certainly not every year and so I think that sort of telling of the story in between players has now led to this as a destination for players.”
For farmers, the significance goes beyond baseball. John Deere Director of Brand Management Jen Hartmann said the movie’s themes have helped it resonate with rural America.
“There has never been a movie that has captured so well this combination of family, and farming, and legacy. I think farmers in particular feel so much pride in the fact that this iconic movie was set in the middle of a corn field. ‘If you build it, they will come’ right? The fact that major league baseball has stayed so true to where the movie was shot, the house is still here, and to build that stadium in the middle of a corn field is really just an honor.”
Those ties also extend to John Deere, which partnered with MLB for the event. Company historian Neil Dahlstrom said the farm featured in the original movie was owned and operated by a John Deere employee.
“The 100-acre farm that was used for the movie was owned and operated by a John Deere employee; he was a welder at the John Deere Dubuque Works so John Deere connections all throughout.”
The company also has a long history with baseball. Dahlstrom said John Deere leaders played the sport as far back as the 1850s, and the company helped create a factory baseball league in the Quad Cities in 1904.
