‘If you build it, he will come:’ Phillies and Twins to play Field of Dreams Game in 2026
Photo Credit: AP Images
According to multiple reports, the Minnesota Twins will host the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2026 Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa. An official announcement from the league and participating teams is expected on Tuesday when the 2026 Major League Baseball schedule is released.
This will be the third time in league history that the Field of Dreams Game will be played, and first since 2022. Both previous games took place in August.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today originally reported that the game would be between the Phillies and New York Mets, which would mark the fourth time the two National League East rivals faced off in an alternate-site/special-event game since 2018. The original report was quickly followed up by Matt Gelb and Dan Hayes of The Athletic, noting that it would be the Twins and Phillies playing in Iowa.
The Field of Dreams Game will be a home game for the Twins, likely due to their proximity to Iowa. The game will be a part of an interleague series between the two, with the other games taking place at Target Field in Minneapolis. This will be the first interleague game played at the Field of Dreams site and just the second interleague game played at a neutral site since MLB introduced Specialty Games in 2016.
The first Field of Dreams game took place between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox in 2021.
After having success with the Fort Bragg Game, the MLB Little League Classic, and MLB in Omaha, the league headed to Iowa to play on the famous “Field of Dreams” field.
“Field of Dreams” is one of the most popular baseball movies of all time. Released in 1989, Kevin Costner starred in the classic movie based on W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 book Shoeless Joe. “If you build it, he will come,” is the famous line echoed throughout the film, prompting Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, to build a baseball field in the cornfield on his farm. Popular baseball figures appear as ghosts throughout the movie, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Chick Gandil, and Buck Weaver. The baseball ghosts would emerge from the outfield cornfield to play before disappearing back through those same cornfields.
On August 12, 2021, the Yankees and White Sox would play a game on an MLB-level field constructed on the grounds of the movie set in Dyersville. Plans for the special game were announced in 2019, with the game set to be played in 2020. However, it was rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Costner and the players emerged from the cornfield as part of the pregame festivities, honoring popular scenes from the movie. The game between the Yankees and White Sox is regarded as one of the best regular-season games in recent history. A back-and-forth affair, the game saw eight home runs, including three in the ninth inning. Down by three in the top of the ninth inning, Aaron Judge hit a two-run home run to bring the Yankees within one before Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead, two-run home run. The White Sox would answer with their own two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as Tim Anderson’s opposite-field home run gave the designated home team a 9-8 win. The game brought in close to six million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes, which at the time was the most-watched regular-season game in 16 years.
MLB returned a year later for the second edition of the Field of Dreams Game, this time between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. Despite lower viewership numbers and a less-than-entertaining game, the event was still a success. The Cubs, who were the designated away team, won 4-2.
Shortly after, the land where the temporary MLB field and movie set field were housed was sold. A new professional stadium on the grounds is being built for 2026.
The Phillies, who have played in their fair share of special-event games, will once again take center stage. Since 2018, the reigning NL East Champions have played in four MLB Special Games. They played in the MLB Little League Classic in 2018 and 2023, both losses to the Mets (‘18) and Washington Nationals (‘23). Last season, they played two games against the Mets in the MLB London Series, winning the first game and losing the second.
The Twins, who are being questioned for their inclusion in the special event after dismantling most of their MLB roster at the trade deadline, have played two neutral-site games in the past. They played a two-game series against the Cleveland Guardians in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2018. The event was established to support the island after Hurricane Maria. Francisco Lindor of the Guardians and Jose Berrios of the Twins, natives of Puerto Rico, helped their teams each get a win in their home country.
