White Sox-Yankees set to play 'Field of Dreams' game in Iowa
DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Decked out in a white linen shirt, blue slacks and flip-flops, Dwier Brown was looking very Hollywood on Wednesday morning as he stood among rolling fields of corn in the Hawkeye State.
The 62-year-old actor talked about the swings and misses of his acting career, which he abandoned in 2016.
A finalist for the lead in “Thelma and Louise,” he lost out to Brad Pitt. In a similar situation with the movie “Risky Business,” Brown was bypassed for that starring role in favor of Tom Cruise.
He'll never forget the casting call for a small part in the baseball movie “Field of Dreams.”
“Got that one,” a still emotional Brown said. “Being in the movie for the final five, six minutes, I used to feel anyone could have walked into that movie and opened people's hearts. I finally quit beating myself up about not getting other bigger parts and took pride in the fact this was a part I did get and I'm proud about what I brought to it.
“I couldn't be happier. This movie still resonates with people 33 years later. It's a beautiful movie of redemption and what it would be like to have a second chance.”
In “Field of Dreams,” Brown played John Kinsella, the father of lead actor Kevin Costner's Ray Kinsella.
When John appears at the end of the film, Ray asks: “Hey dad? Want to have a catch?”
It's one of many classic lines, and on Thursday night, the White Sox and Yankees will meet up in Dyersville to play a major-league game right next to the site where the movie was filmed.
White Sox closer Liam Hendriks is a big fan of the film and is looking forward to the experience.
“It's not every day you get a chance to be the first-ever major-league game in a state,” he said. “That's kind of cool. Hopefully, I don't (stink) and give up the first homer in Iowa.”
A crowd of 8,000 is expected for the game, which will be nationally televised on FOX. First pitch is set for 6:15 p.m.
Given the small capacity and uniqueness of the game, tickets are hard to come by. According to TickPick, the average ticket cost $1,326 and the most expensive ticket still available is priced at $3,972.
Fans lucky enough to be going after a one-year delay due to COVID-19 are likely to be blown away by the experience.
Reaching the newly-built stadium, which pays homage to old Comiskey Park and White Sox outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, a key figure in the movie, requires walking through a corn maze from the field used in “Field of Dreams” to the new facility.
Players from the Sox and Yankees also are expected to enter the playing field through the maze.
Former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is a national broadcaster for FOX. He won't be working the game, but he will be in Dyersville.
“I'm looking forward to Iowa and seeing the corn,” Pierzynski said. “I live in Florida and we don't have corn in Florida. I want to see the movie set. I want to see the house. I want to see the original field where they did the movie and maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get Dwier to play catch with me and my son and we could take a picture together and re-enact the famous scene at the end.”