With Field of Dreams game on hiatus in 2023, does it make sense for MLB to return?

DYERSVILLE — In the distance, you could still hear country star Walker Hayes performing at the specially constructed stadium at the "Field of Dreams" movie site.

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross sat in the makeshift media tent a short walk away.

Ross, who was had on his throwback jersey the Cubs wore during the game, tried to reflect on his team's memorable day in Iowa.

"Really cool event," Ross said.

The event, now in its second year with a return hoped for in 2024, ended with the Cubs beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 before a sellout crowd of 7,823 fans. The evening included another round of memorable moments including Ken Griffey Sr. and his son Ken Griffey Jr., walking out of the corn and playing catch in the outfield.

There was a tribute to late actor Ray Liotta who played "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in the movie. And there was even a hologram of late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." 

"It was a great experience," Reds manager David Bell said.

The experience was something players on both teams tried to embrace. Cubs players strolled through the corn before the game, visited the movie site diamond and snapped photos of themselves. Some of the team's coaches even played catch in the infield as players walked up to the iconic house from the movie. Some even talked about how they hoped other players could experience it later.

"These memories will stay with us forever," said Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal, who went 3-for-5 on Thursday.

Could there be more memories to be made in Dyersville?

Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who is part of the group that owns and operates the movie site, said MLB won't be back in 2023 due to construction on a youth baseball and softball complex they hope to have ready for next summer.

He's hoping that MLB returns in 2024 or beyond.

But whatever magic the MLB unlocked at Field of Dreams, it's vital the sport continue to attract new fans in a saturated marketplace for sports fans.

"People talk about boxing and horse racing were the biggest sports 50 years ago or 75 years ago," Cubs president Jed Hoyer said. "We have to keep growing the game. We have to keep having things like this, going outside of the typical cities and continuing to grow the game for the young people or grow the game outside the diehard fans."

MLB is planning a return to London in 2023 with the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals playing a series there. MLB is looking into possibly having a game at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, one of the fields used in the filming of "A League Of Their Own."

Cubs starter Marcus Stroman said he'd like to see MLB do something to honor the Negro Leagues, which had produced some of the greatest baseball players in history in the early and mid-20th century.

"I have a couple of ideas," Stroman said.

The door is open for MLB to make a return to Dyersville sometime. The event has already become a huge success. Last year's game, the first at the site, included a timeless tribute from Kevin Costner, the star of the movie and an incredible game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees that ended with shortstop Tim Anderson belting a walk-off homer into the corn.

It produced record-breaking viewership and brought renewed interest to the game.

MLB tried to enhance the experience with this year by bringing two Iowa Minor League Baseball teams, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Quad Cities River Bandits, to play at the park two days before the Reds and Cubs took the field. Both games this season drew big crowds. The big-league game was still a hot ticket in Iowa.

And it turned into an opportunity to try to lure non-baseball fans into watching a game played in the middle of a cornfield.

"It's awesome," Stroman said. "It brings more eyes to the game of baseball."

But if MLB returns to Dyserville, can they keep building interest in the game?

Can they keep viewers tuning in?

Can they bottle the magic?

Even though the second showing in Iowa was not the extravaganza that the 2021 game was, it still drew rave reviews and kept alive hope for a possible return.

"I heard so many people throughout our clubhouse saying it's something they'll remember for the rest of their life," Bell said.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Should the Field of Dreams MLB game return to Iowa after 2023 hiatus?