Five sites MLB should use for a 'Field of Dreams' game

On Thursday night, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals will play at Rickwood Field, the oldest ballpark in America. The legendary ballpark was home to the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League from 1924-60 and is the latest stadium to host a special regular-season game.

In 2021 and 2022, the league played a game at the “Field of Dreams” site in Dyersville, Iowa, made famous by the 1989 movie. Over the years, MLB has also played regular-season games in five different countries outside of the United States and Canada, has played games in Williamsport, Pa., as part of its Little League Classic and played a game at an active military base in Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

It begs the question: What other sites should MLB use for a game? Here are five to consider.

1. Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The largest stadium in the Dominican Republic, Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal holds just shy of 25,000 people. MLB has a rich history of players from the Dominican, including the stadium’s namesake, Juan Marichal, and Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and Albert Pujols.

It would be a celebration of the game to center the festivities on Ozzie Virgil Sr., the first MLB player from the Dominican, and welcome back legends like the ones mentioned. The game would also showcase the passion and support Dominican fans are known for.

2. Growden Memorial Park | Fairbanks, Alaska

Growden Memorial Park has hosted the Midnight Sun Game since 1906. Because the sun is out for almost 24 hours a day in Fairbanks during June, the game starts around 10:30 p.m. and finishes well after midnight. Artificial light has never been used.

MLB could welcome back stars who have played at Growden such as Dave Winfield, Terry Francona, Harold Reynolds, Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. The week could also feature the Alaska Goldpanners, who have hosted it since 1960.

3. Eldredge Park | Orleans, Mass.

Home to the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, Eldredge Park was constructed in 1913 and is the oldest of the CCBL parks. It seats 6,000 people, but its quirks are what would make an MLB game fantastic to watch. Left field is 300 feet and right field is 315 feet, but center field is 434 feet, which makes it 14 feet deeper than Comerica Park’s center field, the longest in MLB.

A bandstand sits beyond right-center and a playground beyond left-center. It’s a picturesque park where some of the game's greats, including Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas, Mark Teixeira and Nomar Garciaparra, have played. The game would be a celebration of America’s best amateur summer league, which has produced more than 1,200 MLB players.

4. J.P. Small Memorial Stadium | Jacksonville, Fla.

In keeping with the 2024 celebration of the Negro Leagues game, J.P. Small Memorial Stadium would be a fantastic choice to follow Rickwood Field. It was first constructed in 1912 and rebuilt in 1936.

Henry Aaron, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Roy Campanella, James “Cool Papa” Bell and William “Judy” Johnson played at Small Stadium while in the Negro Leagues. The park is one of only five Negro Leagues stadiums still standing today.

5. Barnstorming through minor league stadiums

An out-of-the-box idea would be to take a weekend and barnstorm through minor league stadiums. The games would bring MLB baseball to many towns that have never experienced it, in turn growing the game in states where the league is not present.

Teams could play at three stadiums in a weekend. MLB in Bowling Green, Ky., or Wichita, Kan.? That’s fun and it gives the whole country a chance to see the game’s best.