ST. LOUIS- Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed Thursday that big-league baseball will return to the Dyersville, Iowa farmland made famous by the movie Field of Dreams after the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees staged a game Thursday which exceeded all expectations.
Chicago Cubs Manager David Ross earlier this week let it slip that his club would be involved in the return engagement next summer, before trying to walk it back.
Could the opponent be the St. Louis Cardinals?
The team was supposed to be involved in last year’s game before it was canceled due to the pandemic. Manager Mike Shildt talked to reporters this week about the disappointment he felt when that happened and the magic that could come with such an opportunity.
If it were Cubs-Cardinals, the 2022 schedule offers up a ready-made window: August 2-4, when the teams are set to play at Busch Stadium Tuesday through Thursday. Most importantly, both teams have a common off-day scheduled for Monday, August 1.
Why is that important?
The Yankees and White Sox are taking Friday off before resuming their series back in Chicago Saturday so in theory, the Cubs and Cardinals could build a buffer day into that series if needed. The Cardinals would be coming off an 8 game, 10-day road trip, while the Cubs would be on the second leg of a road trip coming from San Francisco.
The teams play again later in the month in Chicago, but at least right now, the day off is not built into the schedule.
“You never mess with a winning streak, but it does feel like all the teams are going to want to touch this. There’s going to be hot competition to play this,” Kevin Costner said before last night’s contest.
The Associated Press contributed information for this report
Leave a Reply