'Excited to see the corn': Schwarber, Phillies head to Iowa for Field of Dreams Game

DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- The Phillies will have a day unlike any other in the long history of their franchise on Thursday.

They'll wake up in St. Louis before boarding a flight to Iowa, where they will take on the Twins in the third installment of the MLB at Field of Dreams Game, presented by John Deere. First pitch for the highly anticipated showdown -- which will stream exclusively on Netflix -- is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

"I think it's going to be awesome," said Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. "I've never been out there before, so I'm excited to see the corn, see the field they actually filmed it at. Just to be in that atmosphere, I think it's going to be really cool."

The corn, of course, is where the deceased legends -- led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson -- emerged from in "Field of Dreams." On Thursday, players from both teams will make a similar entrance when they walk from the original field used in the movie to the one built to host MLB games by taking a path through that same cornfield.

"I know they're going to have a lot of different activities and things before the game that'll make it a little bit nostalgic and make it feel like you're playing back in the day," Schwarber said. "So I feel like it'll be a really cool thing, and hopefully, we have a great time."

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly is no stranger to these types of games.

He was the Yankees' hitting coach when they opened the 2004 season in Japan. He was managing the Dodgers when they began the 2014 season in Australia. He was then at the helm for the Marlins when they played a game at Fort Bragg in 2016.

"These games are fun for me," Mattingly said. "It's somewhere different. It's something that you remember more vividly than you would just another game somewhere else."

Plus, he's excited to see where Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Co. filmed the 1989 classic.

"I think it's a great movie," Mattingly said. "I like watching it. And I'm excited about going to Iowa."

Many of the players shared a similar sentiment. Like Schwarber, many Phillies players said this will be their first time in the state of Iowa -- but it'll be a short stay.

The club plans to fly to Minnesota immediately following the Field of Dreams Game. That's where the Phils will spend Friday's off-day before resuming their series against the Twins with games on Saturday and Sunday at Target Field.

But for now, all the focus is on the first game of that series -- one that will be started by veteran right-hander Aaron Nola.

"There's a lot of hype around the ballpark and the whole day, so I think that's going to be pretty cool," Nola said. "And just to be able to go somewhere different. I don't think I've ever been to Iowa, so just excited to go there and see what it's all about."

And is he a fan of the movie?

"Oh, of course," he said with a smile.