Spare Parts: White Sox set for ‘Field of Dreams’ game

Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa (Jana Taylor)

This evening, following White Sox-Athletics, fans in attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field can hang around to watch “Field of Dreams.”

A year from now, select fans will be able to watch the White Sox play at the Field of Dreams complex in Dyersville, Iowa. They’ll take on the Yankees at a temporary, 8,000-set ballpark situated on the farmland that provided the movie set on Aug. 13, 2020.

The Dyersville site is the latest in alternate game location to stage an official Major League Baseball game. This year alone, the Mariners and Athletics opened the season in Japan, the Red Sox and Yankees brought baseball to London, the Tigers and Royals played in Omaha, and the Pirates and Cubs will meet in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.

While the White Sox are the sensible choice for the Field of Dreams site given the movie’s subject, it very well could have included the Cubs and Cardinals because they fight over that territory. Never take for granted people remembering the White Sox exist. As a reminder, here’s ESPN again:

https://twitter.com/heckinwoke/status/1159819475664818176

There are a couple points of tension, or at least dissonance, that will play out in the process.

*Field of Dreams forces the White Sox to acknowledge Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 team, something they don’t seem all that inclined to do for reasons that are understandable. The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal tells us what little the Sox have planned:

To date this season, the team has included an article on what Chicago was like in 1919 in its annual yearbook. A story on Black Sox scandal myths written by a Society for American Baseball Research expert is set to appear in the game program sold at the ballpark beginning Aug 22.

That’s it.

*Major League Baseball is very hard to watch in Iowa otherwise, as Mike Duncan points out:

https://twitter.com/mikeduncan/status/1159470538294607873

It should be a satisfying spectacle, however it happens, and if this helps bring attention to MLB’s ridiculous blackout territories, it’ll be worth all the rehashed arguments over how good or how terrible the movie is.

(My stance: “Field of Dreams” is a very effective movie emotionally, and it would’ve been far more effective as a baseball movie had Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston come out of the corn. “Sugar” ranks atop my list of best baseball films.)

Spare Parts

It’s not often you see Deadspin cover a story that reflects positively on the White Sox — “Blight Sox” is their brand — but thanks to Anthony Swarzak’s wife, Ariana Dubelko Giolito and Bria Anderson got the job done.

Many of the foreign-substance scandals of recent history stem pitchers trying to get a better grip on the ball, not load it up. MLB is trying to render it unnecessary by coming up with a baseball whose cover requires no rubbing, but it turns out that the mud that’s been used for decades can’t be so easily replaced. You probably won’t read a more interesting story about mud all year.

One way Iván Nova might make a difference before his time in a White Sox uniform is through? Urging Reynaldo López to conduct scrum interviews in English. He’s offered López $300 if López handles it in English, but charges López $100 if he reverts to use of a translator. López has paid him $300 so far.

Steve Stone will get the Aug. 15-18 series in Anaheim off, and Bill Walton will be taking his place alongside Benetti during one of them. For one game, it should be a lot of fun.

Take a second to support Sox Machine on Patreon
34 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
PauliePaulie

Had no idea Anthony Swarzak was a birther.
Also, Ricky and the coaches are smarter than the rest of baseball and if you don’t like what they’re doing, you just don’t get it.
https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/rick-renteria-seeks-sustainable-white-sox-rebuild

Trooper Galactus

Great job by Merk to talk about the various exciting components of the rebuild (including the absent Michael Kopech) and not even mention Moncada.

Patrick Nolan

I thought that said “the neutral fiesta that is Bill Walton” for a second.

asinwreck

Nothing neutral about ol’ Bill. I highly recommend seeing the Benetti-Walton Maui Invitational broadcasts to appreciate Jason’s ability to react to unpredictable situations.

mikeyb

Jason paired with Walton was so so so fun during Maui. You’re right, Jason was fantastic. Of course, I also didn’t have a team I cared about playing in that tournament. I think for one game, covering a terrible White Sox team, this will be a blast.

Lurker Laura

I am absolutely looking forward to this.

Joliet Orange Sox

I did have a team I care about (I L L!) in Maui and by the end of the tournament Walton wore very thin for me.
I’m old enough to remember him playing and the 77 Blazers were an unbelievable NBA team that is often forgotten because the greatness was short-lived due to injuries.

Patrick Nolan

Yeah I was gonna say….he was particularly (and annoyingly) UNC leaning in the UNC/ND game he called this year.

mikeyb

I muted by halftime on that one.

Lurker Laura

What the actual f**k, ESPN.

Josh Nelson

I’m sure there are some people who still think Gordon Beckham plays for the White Sox.

Lurker Laura

Even so, do those people also not know that a capital “D” is nowhere in the words Chicago, White, or Sox?

As Cirensica

D’Chicago White Sox…the D is muted

MrTopaz

As we all knew him, Angelo Jimenez.

Smclean09

There is no offense either

ThisReallySox

Apparently they think all Chicago teams start with DA’

WaldoWolf

At this point ESPN has to be making these White Sox errors deliberately, right?

Trooper Galactus

It’s almost assuredly deliberate (just too many blatant fuck ups like this for it to be brushed off as accidental at this point), and I have no idea why they do it or what they gain from it.

anthonyprinceton

That Deadspin article and particularly the attached NPR article on Chicago gun laws is pretty trashy although possibly not as bad as the Sun Times article. Both Bria and Elizabeth make good points. Ariana should have left the private messages private.

GoGoSoxFan

Yeah, it’s always better to leave comments supporting white nationalists (or at the least playing both siderism with the subject) private. We sure don’t need that conversation in public. I for one appplaude Ariana and Bria.

anthonyprinceton

Please provide the quote where she is supporting white nationalists I must have missed it. I am all for have public discord as I am well versed in Chicago crime, Chicago politics and the history of race in Chicago. With a decent amount of knowledge nationally and even globally.

karkovice squad

Yeah, without knowing more she’s either ignorant or disingenuous.

But given it’s a thing for white supremacists to downplay white supremacy, the benefit of the doubt has to be earned in this case.

Trooper Galactus

Yeah, this is literally trying to re-define the term “nationalism”. Yes, I’m sure nationalists genuinely love their countries. They also genuinely believe that their country should only look, act, speak, believe, and think exactly like they do and work to eliminate anything that does not conform to their individual views. So, no, Mrs. Swarzak, being a nationalist is not, in fact, okay.

lil jimmy

When I see a Flag emblem in car car window, I often say to my boys,
” Hey look, an American! I myself am an American! what are the chances? Should I roll down the window an tell them?”

Trooper Galactus

There’s some contractor that’s been working on my street for a few weeks now. His pickup has about a half dozen flags hanging off the back, most notably a Betsy Ross flag side-by-side with a Trump flag. At least he puts the modern day American flag highest, I suppose.

lil jimmy

as you do. If you do the flag , do it right. No other flag precedes the American flag.

Trooper Galactus

The American flag also isn’t a fucking decoration for an automobile, but that seems to be conveniently forgotten by these hyper-patriots.

karkovice squad

One of our new neighbors is proudly flying the colors of Miami-Ohio and Blue Lives Matter on their car stickers. Checks out.

anthonyprinceton

Her statement is not wrong though, a little clunky but not wrong. Nationalism is not inherently bad. Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Gandhi were nationalists. Any ideology can be twisted into evil, see religion and the writings of Karl Marx for example. The media and politicians routinely conflates immigrants with illegal aliens and is now doing the same with nationalism and white supremacy.
It’s funny how the fact that the Dayton murderer was a socialist, antifa supporter that has been calling for violence on Twitter for years and unless I missed that, was left out of these attached stories and much of the coverage in general. If you are not paying close attention, you could come to the conclusion that the motives for both incidents were related.

Trooper Galactus

Lincoln, Churchill, and Gandhi were not known for their insistence that their countries be ethnically culturally singular. Two of them were literally murdered for this stance. Also, please point to me where anything involving Antifa or socialism somehow directly motivated the Dayton shooter to kill anybody.

craigws

May want to back it up on Churchill. Amazing wartime leader (best ignore Gallipoli), yes, but also a racist dick.

Trooper Galactus

Oh, absolutely. Of the three he’s certainly the closest to the definition, especially given he was an imperialist. He also didn’t go on the radio giving speeches about maintaining the cultural purity of England, at least not that I’m aware of.

tommytwonines

(My stance: “Field of Dreams” is a very effective movie emotionally, and it would’ve been far more effective as a baseball movie had Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston come out of the corn.)

That’s an odd way to judge movies, Jim. They made a different movie than you/I wanted -they always do.