DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Mike Schmidt was among the first to appear.
After the modern-day Phillies and Twins had emerged from the cornfields in right field, had crossed the grass, and lined up along the baselines, they turned back to look.
A steady stream of Hall of Famers from across multiple generations had followed them out of the stalks. Ahead of Thursday’s Field of Dreams game, it was a nod to the scene in the 1989 film where ghostly versions of the 1919 White Sox materialize between rows of corn and walk on a ball field built by Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella. Only instead of ghosts, these were living legends.
A group of 26 Hall of Famers took part in the ceremony, including Schmidt and fellow former Phillies Steve Carlton, Jim Thome, Billy Wagner, Scott Rolen, Jim Kaat, Tony Pérez, and Ferguson Jenkins.
“I felt like I was in a movie,” Schmidt said. “I’m looking around at the guys, and I didn’t want to get too far ahead. I was behind them. You know, I really felt like I was Joe Jackson or something walking on the field.”
While they waited for the ceremony to start, ballplayers past and present had milled about together in the clearing beyond the corn.
Interim manager Don Mattingly saw many old friends. Brandon Marsh was starstruck by his childhood idol, former Brave Andruw Jones. Kyle Schwarber reunited with some former Cubs who visited spring training during his time in Chicago, and he made some new connections as well.
“It was really cool to us, a lot of the guys that I haven’t gotten to meet before, just to shake their hands and introduce who I am and say how big of fans we are of them,” Schwarber said. “These guys all laid the groundwork for us before we even thought about playing baseball, or while we were growing up.”
It was an equally special experience for the old-timers to witness the new generation, and see who might be following in their footsteps.
“It’s kind of almost like a passing of the torch,” said former Twins catcher Joe Mauer. “Those guys on the first and third baselines, maybe a few of them join this group.
“That’s why I think the game is so special. They honor the traditions, the people that have come before you and made an impact on this game, and we hope to leave an imprint on the game and make it better than when you found it.”
Thome’s 18-year-old son Landon was just selected 34th overall by the White Sox in the MLB draft last month. Jim has been spending time with him celebrating that milestone, but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be a part of a game like Thursday’s, especially considering that his Hall of Fame career included stints in Minnesota and Philadelphia.
“The word for me is thankful,” Thome said. “Thankful for being able to be in this great fraternity with really special men.”
Thome, a Midwest native from Peoria, Ill., attended the inaugural MLB at Field of Dreams game between the White Sox and Yankees in 2021. He played catch with Landon by the cornfields, and then they watched the game together.
He never foresaw a moment like the one on Thursday when he passed through the stalks with fellow all-time greats walking next to him.
“In your career, you have moments where it kind of feels like things slow down,” Thome said. “It felt like you just kind of strolled out with these great players, and it just kind of slowed down.”
The gathering of 26 is believed to be the most Hall of Famers together at one game since the 2008 All-Star Game, which brought together 49 at Yankee Stadium. It accounted for just over one-third of all living members enshrined in Cooperstown.
“The one constant through all the years, Ray,” James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, says in the movie, “has been baseball.”
Byron Buxton, addressing the crowd with a microphone alongside Schwarber during the pregame festivities, referenced that line to prompt the baseball legends to step through the corn.
“I guess to sum it all up,” Schmidt said, “is if I could see my father walk through the cornfields, I tell you what, I’d love to play catch with him.”
