Field of Fire
August 13, 2021 by Terry Keshner · 1 Comment
The White Sox needed this one. For about 102 years the White Sox have needed this one.
The Sox got a two-run home run from All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 9-8 in the “Field of Dreams” game in Dyersville, Iowa Thursday night, a contest that was far too dramatic, sensational and yes, we’ll say it, corny, for even the most heartfelt Hollywood screenwriter.
Damn, this one was fun, kids.
The Sox have a division lead bigger than an Iowa cornfield and a lineup potentially more daunting than a ruling from Kenesaw Mountain Landis. We know this. But the Medias Blancas have not been very good the last month or so with the only highlight being last weekend’s delightful three game massacre of the team from the North Side of town.
Then came Thursday. A Hollywood setting, and a hero’s triumph.
Do you love the movie “Field of Dreams,” which tells the story of a man reconnecting with his deceased father through the phantoms of the 1919 White Sox, who live in infamy for allegedly throwing the World Series?
Some of us love it because it’s very much about the White Sox and so it falls into that tiny category of popular culture that actually recognizes Chicago has a South Side.
But most of those who love it do so because it’s really about rediscovering your youth, finally getting the love from your father you thought was lost forever, and because it has Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones.
But we love anything with Ray Liotta. And the White Sox.
The Sox are soldiering through a bizarro season which has seen them put half their team on the injured list, discover a diamond in the rough only to see him turn back into coal, be both disappointing and inspiring, dominating and infuriating, and all the time being led by a manager who may or may not have played against Shoeless Joe and Happy Felsch.
If you watch them, they will unnerve you. They will emerge from the corn and rise from the South Side and, if nothing else, give us an August night to remember. A memory that won’t last 102 years, but might glow until October. –TK
I was fortunate enough to visit Dyersville during the RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa. After a long hot day of riding, we visited the field at dusk, and it was magical. A random selection of visitors was playing on the field (the original, from the movie). We were able to walk out of the cornfield, just like the Black Sox. It reminded me of a simpler time; although the Black Sox saga is a reminder that greed and conflict have always been a part of the National Pastime. I was happy the 2021 Sox could achieve a measure of retribution by defeating the Yankees. In the midst of all the corny yet meaningful staging, it was a great ballgame.