Chicago White Sox should have kept the Field of Dreams game

Last year’s Field of Dreams game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees was a huge success for Major League Baseball.

Millions of fans tuned in to see the two playoff contenders play the first-ever MLB game in Iowa. The White Sox had an impressive 9-8 win in the most dramatic walk-off fashion. Unfortunately, this year’s game is not likely to live up to the first.

This year’s game is a scheduled matchup between the cellar-dwelling Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. They are competing for last place in the NL Central along with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As of August 10th, both the Cubs and Reds have a .404 winning percentage.

While the Chicago White Sox aren’t as good as they were last year, they are still only 2.5 games out of first place and competing for a playoff spot. They are worth watching a lot more than the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds who are playing for nothing.

Even if the White Sox weren’t competitive, having them be one of the teams in the Field of Dreams Game makes sense because it’s based on the movie starring Chicago White Sox legend Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven of his White Sox teammates.

The Field of Dreams Game Should have remained a Chicago White Sox game.

The Reds were the team the White Sox faced in the 1919 World Series but they weren’t relevant to the Field of Dreams movie or the book it’s based on Shoeless Joe.

Maybe MLB wanted a balance between the American and National League or to take advantage of the Chicago Cubs’ national popularity. Either way, making the game a Cubs game was a mistake. At least they didn’t trade Wilson Contreras at the deadline so they’ll have someone worth watching.

Hopefully, the game becomes a White Sox game when it returns again. In the book, the main character’s favorite team is the Minnesota Twins (who are geographically close to Iowa) so making it a White Sox-Twins game makes a lot of sense.

Of course, with increased interleague play in the coming years, a White Sox-Reds or White Sox-Cardinals game would be really cool to see. In any case, the game should be played by the White Sox when the game returns and hopefully for the years to come after.