TA recalls Field of Dreams walk-off: 'Just a moment of happiness'

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- People often ask me about what I remember in covering the first Field of Dreams contest between the White Sox and Yankees on Aug. 12, 2021.

It’s an interesting inquiry, because almost every person I know who wanted to go to the game seemingly ended up in Dyersville, Iowa, that night, despite an announced attendance of 7,832. But here’s how I reply:

Renting the car in Chicago was much tougher than I expected that Thursday morning, as was the 4-hour travel journey. It was hotter than any event I’ve ever attended, thanks to the corn, or so I’ve been told. The front-desk clerk at the motel where I stayed overnight after the game is still laughing over my question about a fitness center or workout room being on the property.

Aside from those minor pitfalls, it probably ranks a very close second to the 2008 American League Central blackout play-in game between the Twins and White Sox as the most entertaining regular-season event I’ve ever witnessed. Arguably the greatest regular-season moment of the previous White Sox rebuild came in Iowa off the bat of Tim Anderson, who announced his retirement Monday in a powerful and emotional press conference.

Anderson connected off Zach Britton for the only known “Stalk Off” in Major League Baseball history, as he launched a two-run home run into the right-field corn, setting off celebratory fireworks amid a 9-8 victory. Five years later, that moment seems as fresh as the connection at the time.

“Going through those memories, it was just one of those games where we went back and forth,” Anderson said. “Being able to walk it off definitely was a great feeling.

“That moment is going to be around forever. We are still talking about it five years later. We are still touching on such a cool moment that happened in baseball.”

One humorous storyline going into that competition centered on Anderson, the face of the White Sox and one of the faces of baseball at the time, never having watched the "Field of Dreams" movie. Anderson confirmed Monday he has still not watched the film. To be honest, I’ve never watched it from start to finish.

Kevin Costner, the star of that film, might not be very happy with us. Then again, it stands as an iconic movie -- let alone an iconic baseball movie -- without our viewing, so I’m sure he’ll be fine. Costner was part of this unbelievable baseball presentation, answering questions that night in Dyersville during an earlier press conference, followed by both teams walking out from the corn fields during a truly memorable pregame.

José Abreu began the scoring with the first MLB homer hit in Iowa, connecting off Yankees starter Andrew Heaney in the first inning. Seby Zavala and Eloy Jiménez also went deep in a game featuring eight long balls, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton with two outs in the ninth off White Sox closer Liam Hendriks to turn a 7-4 deficit into an 8-7 lead for the Yankees.

Zavala’s one-out walk against Britton is an often-overlooked moment in the ninth. That free pass set up Anderson, who still has the jersey, the batting gloves and the helmet he wore for that special moment.

“As I round second, I see the team, everybody is just going crazy. I look up in the stands, and everybody is just going crazy,” Anderson said. “You hear the fireworks. Just a moment of happiness. We were really happy in that moment.

“Everyone in the baseball world was happy, it don't matter which team you were really going for. Well, I mean besides if you were for the Yankees. But just being in that moment, definitely it struck the baseball community. Just being happy. I think the ultimate goal is to be happy and that was a really happy moment.”

On the way out of the stadium, I met the Walsh family, who went to the game through MasterCard’s priceless experiences. They ended up with front-row tickets and an overnight stay on that Thursday at the original farmhouse from the set of Field of Dreams, which I received a cordial tour of before driving to my hotel.

Quite a game. Quite a baseball memory, with more special times to come Thursday.

“I don’t think it could have went any better than what it did. Those moments, you can’t forget them,” Anderson said. “You could easily ask somebody if they remember that and they'll say yeah. It was definitely one of those moments to remember for sure.”