MLB announces 2024 Field of Dreams matchup set for historic ballpark in Alabama

In 2021, MLB created a new tradition that was immediately popular with fans, the Field of Dreams game. It played on the Kevin Costner movie of the same name, where an Iowa farmer made a field that attracted the ghosts of MLB legends.

The first two years were massive successes, with the game being played at a cornfield in Iowa. Those games saw teams wearing throwback uniforms, players walking out of the corn onto the field, and Ken Griffey Jr. even playing catch with his father.

Despite this success, there won’t be a Field of Dreams game in 2023 due to construction at the stadium. However, MLB didn’t want to let the game go away for too long. So, they announced a location for the 2024 Field of Dreams game.

The 2024 Field of Dreams game will be played between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rickwood Field, having opened in 1910 is the oldest professional baseball field in the country, even older than Fenway Park, which is the oldest MLB stadium. It was, initially, the home of the Birmingham Barons and the Barons still play some of their games there today.

Along with acting as a minor league ballpark and a spring training facility for the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates at different points, Rickwood Field was also the home of several Negro League teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons. That was Giants legend Willie Mays‘ team in 1948.

“I would love (wearing throwbacks), that would be really cool,” Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’ll definitely give you the full effect of the game. I hope it is us who wears the jerseys for sure. That would be something to remember forever.”  

Today, Rickwood Field is one of two Negro League stadiums still standing, along with Hinchliffe Stadium in Patterson, New Jersey. It has also appeared in movies like 42 and Cobb.

Documentary about MLB and San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds in the works

Barry Bonds is one of the best players in MLB history. He dominated for the Pittsburgh Pirates and later the San Francisco Giants, following in his father Bobby Bonds and his godfather Willie Mays’ footsteps. In the process, he became the Home Run King.

At the same time, Bonds is one of the most controversial figures in MLB history, known for his use of steroids.

Now, the producers of “The Last Dance” are making a documentary about Barry Bonds. Front Office Sports described the project.

“HBO is producing a documentary on Barry Bonds, baseball’s home run king whose historic performances throughout the 1990s and 2000s became marred by steroid controversies. The untitled film is being directed by Keith McQuirter (By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem) and executive produced by Oscar winner Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America),” Front Office Sports reported.

“Archived footage and original interviews will be used in the Bonds film to chronicle his beginning as the son of MLB All-Star Bobby Bonds and godson of Willie Mays to his early-career stardom with the Pittsburgh Pirates and record-breaking years with the San Francisco Giants.”

As of now, it’s unclear how much, if at all, Barry Bonds will be involved.