Dreams & memories: Baseball legends take the field in Dyersville – Dubuque Telegraph Herald

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — He might have been known as “The Kid” early on in his Hall-of-Fame baseball career, but at 60 years old, it has been awhile since Robin Yount felt like one.

However, as Yount stepped out from the corn and onto the field at the Field of Dreams movie site Saturday in Dyersville, “The Kid” felt like a rookie again.

“I have never been here, so it’s very exciting,” said Yount, who racked up more than 3,000 hits during his 20-year career with the Milwaukee Brewers. “It’s these baseball fields in small towns — not in the big stadiums in big cities — that really is the heart and soul of the game. A lot of the guys that play in big stadiums today usually started out some place like this. Games like this really bring us back to our beginnings. I feel young again.”

Yount was one of 12 former Major League Baseball players, several of them Hall-of-Famers, who participated in the Team of Dreams celebrity softball game. The roster also included Reggie Jackson, Brooks Robinson, Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, Andre Dawson, Steve Carlton, Rollie Fingers, Doc Gooden, Bill Buckner, Jose Canseco and Mike Boddicker.

Denise Stillman, owner of the movie site and organizer for the event, said between 3,000 and 4,000 people packed the bleachers and surrounded the field for the game. A final attendance count still is being tallied. She said the event was a huge success.

“Having these Hall-of-Famers here elevates what this field is about,” Stillman said. “It’s about reclaiming youth. It’s about reconnecting. It’s about second chances. Giving these guys a second chance to hit home runs into a cornfield in a magical place in Iowa is just a joy for me.”

Proceeds from the event — $25,000 — were donated to the Tri-State Blind Society before the game.

Canseco hit the only home run of the game — a deep blast into the left field corn. Canseco, whose 462 homers leave him tied for 35th place all time in MLB, also competed in a home run-hitting contest after the game, taking off a percentage of the cost of his autograph for each blast. He hit 11.

“It was a lot of fun,” Canseco said.

Boggs, who played in the previous celebrity game at the field two years ago, said he couldn’t be happier to be back.

“It feels like I am home,” said Boggs, who has been vocal about his support of preserving the site for future generations. “Denise Stillman is doing a great job of moving us forward to our final dream of having baseball fields in the cornfields so that the youngsters and future stars of tomorrow have a place to play. When Hall-of-Famers come back to a little town in Iowa, I think it speaks volumes of what we have here. It would be a travesty if it all faded away. This should be preserved.”

Boggs said the site represents the backyards so many players grew up playing in.

Dozens of families brought their children to the game, hoping to pass on the magic.

Scott Insteness traveled nearly 200 miles from Mondovi, Wis., with his daughters: Ava, 8, and Julia, 6.

“We always do a family trip, usually to a Brewers game, but this time we decided to come out here and see some of the older players,” Insteness said. “It’s important to have that family time. You’d always like to share that special moment like you see in the movie.”

Jamie McDonald, of Dubuque, brought his sons Shea, 7, and Liam, 5.

“We are lucky to be this close to the Field of Dreams,” McDonald said. “We don’t get here as often as we should. It’s good for them to get to see some legends. There’s nothing like baseball to bring the family together.”

Stillman has already begun a conversation about bringing the legends back to the Field of Dreams in the future.

“Nothing has been confirmed, but the players all loved it, and we’d love to do it again,” she said.