Meet Dyersville, Iowa, a small town with more than a baseball field
Dyersville, Iowa, is well known as the home of the “Field of Dreams” movie site, but the small town has more to offer to visitors.
It was back in 2021 that actor Kevin Costner famously emerged from the cornstalks at a specially constructed diamond at the “Field of Dreams” movie site and led the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees into the stadium for what turned out to be one of Major League Baseball’s most memorable events.
A year later, the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs visited Dyersville for another MLB matchup near the iconic field where the 1989 movie was filmed. While that second game didn’t have the same excitement, build-up or drama of the first game, fans have been hoping that MLB would once again return the famous field in Dubuque County.
They’re getting their wish.
MLB is expected to return to the Field of Dreams in August 2026, with a tentative matchup featuring the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies, subject to some additional planning, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Des Moines Register.
It’s huge news for MLB and for the state of Iowa. The 2021 game, which ended with Tim Anderson of the White Sox belting a walk-off home run into the corn, turned out to be one of the marquee moments in baseball history. That contest featured a touching pregame tribute from Costner, who in the movie played an Iowa farmer who plows over his corn to build a baseball field for Joe Jackson and other members of the banished 1919 White Sox.
The game was so successful that MLB quickly decided to return to Iowa with a Reds vs. Cubs matchup. Ken Griffey Jr. and his dad Ken Griffey Sr. were the stars beforehand as they had a pregame catch on the field. The Cubs won that game 4-2 on Aug. 11, 2022.
The movie site itself has gone through a major transformation with owners building fields for youth teams. MLB, meanwhile, has continued its trend of playing regular-season games at unique sites. In 2024, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals played at Rickwood Field, the former home of the Birmingham Black Barons. Earlier this year, the Reds and the Atlanta Braves played at Bristol Motor Speedway.
MLB will be hard-pressed to replicate the scene, suspense and storybook ending of the first game held in Dyersville.
Both games in Iowa drew national attention. Tickets were heavily contested items. MLB used a lottery for fans with an Iowa area code to enter for a chance to purchase tickets.
The 2021 and 2022 contests remain the only MLB regular-season games played in Iowa. Next year, the state will add a third.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
