Cubs play in 2nd Field of Dreams game Thursday night

DYERSVILLE, Iowa – It’s not been the best of seasons for a team that’s currently rebuilding their on-field product.

But for one night, the Cubs can have a “dream” experience, so to speak.

For a second-straight year, a club from Chicago will take part in Major League Baseball’s “Field of Dreams” game that will be played on the same lot where the movie with the same title was filmed in the late 1980s.

Last year, it was the White Sox that won a thrilling inaugural contest over the Yankees on a Tim Anderson walk-off homer into the corn in right field. That was a game featuring two teams that were competing for a playoff spot, but this year the stakes are a bit different.

For the Cubs and their opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, this is arguably their biggest moment left in what’s been a lost 2022 season when they throw the first pitch after 6 PM Thursday. Both teams are near the bottom of the standings, with the Cubs 45-65 on the season while the Reds are just below them at 44-66.

Yet that doesn’t take away from this unique moment for the clubs as they travel to Dyersville to play a regular season contest.

“Incredible to be a part of that,” said Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner when asked about playing in the Field of Dreams game this week. “It seemed like, watching the game last year, the players seemed like they had a lot of fun. Obviously, it was an incredible game, a lot of stars; an awesome way to introduce that game.

“Just looking to build on that and really enjoy the day, being a part of something that is a little bit of history.”

It also could be the last Field of Dreams game for a bit since the contest isn’t expected to return in 2023, per a report in the Des Moines Register, due to upcoming construction on the site.

But the game is here in 2022, with all of the unique features that set it apart from a typical regular season game. Starting with the pregame ceremonies through the final out, there are a few things players like Patrick Wisdom are looking forward to Thursday evening.

“Walking through the corn and hopefully hitting one into the corn to end the game, that would be pretty special,” said Wisdom. “I think just embracing it, not worrying about what I’m going to do at the plate, statistical-wise. I think embracing everything that’s going to happen that day and just the moment that we get to be a part of.”