Major League Baseball held a Zoom conference call with Farmer, the Reds shortstop, and Chicago Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel on Wednesday to promote the game.
A year ago, the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 9-8 in the first MLB at Field of Dreams event. It was the first official big-league game held in Iowa. Kevin Costner, the star of the movie, attended the game at the Lansing Family Farm, which became a popular tourist attraction after the movie was filmed there. Major League Baseball constructed an 8,000-seat stadium for the game.
The Reds-Cubs game at the Field of Dreams site was announced last August.
“Wearing the 1919 uniforms and walking out of the corn after everybody watching it last year,” Farmer said, “I think everybody’s pretty excited.”
MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds, a former big-league infielder, asked the players specifically about the infield dirt.
“I talked to a few guys,” Farmer said, “and they said they’ve done an incredible job with it. Building a stadium in a place where you really honestly are not supposed to build a stadium, it looked incredible. Guys said the surface was awesome.”
“The field looked unbelievable,” Schwindel said. “Watching homers go out into the corn, it is just something special you don’t really see that often. It’s going to be a great opportunity to play in that game, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
For the Reds, the 7:15 p.m. game, which will be televised on FOX, will come a day after the end of a three-game series on the road against the New York Mets. The Reds and Cubs will have an off day Aug. 12 and then resume their series Saturday and Sunday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
“We play the Cubs a lot,” Farmer said, “and we’re very familiar with them. I think it’s just another ballgame for us, and I think the only difference is that we’re traveling on a day we’re going to play, rather than the night before, and we have to prepare our bodies for that.”
FIELD OF DREAMS GAME
Thursday, Aug. 11
Cubs vs. Reds, 7 p.m., Fox, 700, 1410
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