White Sox fired up for next season's 'Field of Dreams' game vs. Yankees
The game is over a year away, but Rick Giolito is already pushing for his son to start it for the Chicago White Sox.
Taking to social media on Thursday, Rick Giolito was hoping Lucas Giolito "lines up" to pitch against the Yankees on Aug. 13, 2020 in a one-time game in Dyersville, Iowa, where the classic baseball movie "Field of Dreams" was filmed.
The Sox's rotation is only set five games in advance - often times less than that - so the elder Giolito expressed a classic case of wishful thinking.
Nothing wrong with that, considering the White Sox and Yankees will play in an iconic Iowa cornfield that came to life on the big screen 30 years ago.
If it does turn out to be Lucas Giolito's day to pitch in the nationally-televised game against New York, he'll be thrilled.
"It's going to be cool, super cool," Giolito said. "I've been looking around the league the last couple of years and teams going to all these different places to play baseball, and now we get to do one. That's pretty cool. Get to head out to Iowa and play right in the cornfields.
"That's where they shot the movie, right there? Yeah, that's really cool. It's going to be cool to check it out. Hopefully I get to pitch that one."
While Thursday's announcement of next season's "Field of Dreams" game against the Yankees was a surprise to most White Sox players, Giolito knew the news was going to eventually drop.
"I heard about it a few months ago," the all-star righty said. "It's really cool. I did a little promo thing for it. You guys will be seeing it soon, I'm excited. Any time you can change up the routine and go somewhere else, I'm sure they will do a great job building the stadium there."
The Sox and Yankees will play in a temporary 8,000-seat stadium in Iowa on a Thursday. After a day off Friday, the White Sox and New York will play at Guaranteed Rate Field Saturday and Sunday to complete the three-game series.
Giolito comes from a family of actors, and he is quite familiar with the movie. Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, conversely, has never seen "Field of Dreams."
"I may need to watch it now," he said.
Much like Giolito, Anderson likes the appeal of playing a game in a new location, even if it is going to be in a remote patch of corn.
"I'm open for that," Anderson said. "I'm down for whatever. I'll play wherever. Doing something different, I'm all for it."
Manager Rick Renteria said he was getting his truck fixed during Thursday's off-day when the news broke, and his mechanic asked about the Sox playing in Iowa next season.
"He says, 'Hey, you guys are going to play a game over in Field of Dreams?'" Renteria said. "And I say, 'Really?' I think we're as excited as everybody. It's a unique experience. I think everybody will enjoy it, albeit limited seating. But for the game of baseball, for the White Sox, for anybody who's involved and watching that, I think it will be a positive thing to be a part of."
With additional top prospects expected to be on the roster by next August, the "Field of Dreams" game could be the perfect opportunity for the Sox to show the country they are a team on the rise.
"I don't know that they're going to be thinking about that, to be honest," Renteria said of his players. "I think they're going to be thinking about what they're doing between the lines. But it will mean a lot for us and how we're moving forward as an organization. I think it's a positive thing.
"I hope that there's a lot of recognition for these young men who continue to develop as major-league players. And hopefully everybody kind of sees the excitement that we have and the reasons we have. Hopefully it will be a nice game and everybody will be able to kind of pin some really good hopes on us moving forward."