CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- A day after it was announced that the White Sox will face the Yankees at the "Field of Dreams" site in Dyersville, Iowa in 2020, the Chicago clubhouse was buzzing with excitement Friday.
"It is going to be cool," right-hander Lucas Giolito said. "It is going to be super cool. I have been looking at the league in the last few years watching teams go to different places to play baseball. Now we get to do one. We will get to go to Iowa and play right in cornfields where they shot the movie. Hopefully, I get to pitch that one. It would be cool."
The White Sox and Yankees will play at the unique venue on Aug. 13, 2020 in an 8,000-seat temporary stadium, on which construction will begin later in August. The game will be aired nationally by Fox on a Thursday evening. The teams will then have an off day Friday before playing the final two games of their series Saturday and Sunday in Chicago.
"Field of Dreams" was released in 1989. Even though most of the White Sox players hadn't been born yet, many still have an affinity for the movie, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary this year.
"I have watched the movie five times," 23-year-old right-hander Dylan Cease said. "It is something growing up I never would have thought Major League Baseball would do. It is super creative, and it spices things up. I am definitely looking forward to it."
While Cease was a big fan of the movie, 26-year-old shortstop Tim Anderson is going to need to carve out some time on the couch to see it.
"I have never seen Field of Dreams," Anderson said. "I don't know. I guess it would be a good time to watch it. I am down for that. I will play wherever."
White Sox manager Rick Renteria heard about the news of the matchup in a strange way, as he apparetnly hadn't been given a heads up it was coming. Renteria was at a car dealership getting some work done on his truck Thursday morning when one of the workers there was scanning the internet and saw the news. That gentleman then mentioned it to Renteria, who responded "really?" before having the details filled in for him.
"We're as excited as everybody is," Renteria said. "I think it's a unique experience. I think everybody will enjoy it."
Ray Liotta played Shoeless Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams." Of course, Jackson is known for being a central figure in the Black Sox Scandal, in which some members of the 1919 White Sox were accused of conspiring to throw a World Series that they lost to the Reds. Jackson and others were banned from baseball because of their association with the fix.
"The idea came from Major League baseball," White Sox vice president of communications Scott Reifert said. "It is tied to the anniversary of the movie. I think the movie resonates with everybody on different levels. It is kind of one of those epics from a baseball generational aspect. The White Sox are a big part of that. So the phone is ringing off the hook with interest."
MLB approached the White Sox about playing in the game, and they'll be the home team. Proceeds will be split, with the White Sox receiving the highest percentage of the compensation.
The distribution of tickets to the game will be handled primarily by MLB. Details on tickets likely won't be announced for months, Reifert said.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
