Дата публикации: 13-08-2026 22:26:00

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — It is hard to put into words how special Thursday night felt in the cornfields.
Whether you care deeply about baseball history or not, whether you were there for the Phillies or the Twins, Philadelphia’s 7-1 win at the Field of Dreams pulled the sport’s past and present into the same frame.
That was clear from the start.
Just like in the 1989 film Field of Dreams, figures emerged from the cornfield beyond right field. In this case, they were not ghosts.
They were living Hall of Famers.
After the Philadelphia and Minnesota emerged from the corn, twenty-six of them walked out during the pregame ceremony, wearing old-school uniforms as they made their way from the corn to the field.
It was the most Cooperstown representation at a single game since the 2008 All-Star Game at the old Yankee Stadium. Before that, it had not happened since the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park.
A few of the current faces in Dyersville could one day join that kind of company.
Bryce Harper. Kyle Schwarber. Dave Dombrowski. Maybe even Don Mattingly, depending on how the next chapter of his baseball life unfolds.
“A little surreal,” Mattingly said of the presentation. “I didn’t really think about it before that, but walking out was really cool.”
Former Phillies Mike Schmidt and Jim Thome know what those nights feel like, too.
In 1999, Thome was an American League All-Star. Schmidt was honored as part of MLB’s All-Century Team, a 30-player roster filled with legends like himself and Ted Williams.
That night became one of the sport’s lasting images. Williams was brought to the mound in a wheelchair before throwing out the first pitch. The All-Stars gathered around him, shook his hand, hugged him and took in a moment that cut across generations.
Schmidt called it “very touching.”
“It’s another one of those things about baseball and its effect on people, the history of the game, that connects generations,” Schmidt said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Thome remembers it through his father.
“I remember having a moment where I locked in with my dad and how special that was to be able to watch the greatest players,” Thome said. “That night I was able to meet Ted Williams.”
Then came the part that fit Thursday night just as well.
“This great game gives us memories, friendships, the fraternity that ballplayers are so lucky to be in and be a part of,” Thome said. “It’s just a gift.”
That fraternity is part of what Terence Mann’s famous speech in Field of Dreams was built around. Baseball as the constant through all the years.
You could feel that in Dyersville Thursday.
The Phillies and Twins greeted members of Cooperstown before first pitch. The throwback uniforms gave the night a different texture. The cornfield made every look toward the outfield feel like a scene.
Schwarber felt it before he ever stepped in the box.
“We all watched the movie as kids growing up,” Schwarber said. “It was really cool to be able to see exactly where it was and just kind of the whole ceremony, where we walked out of the corn. You’re able to walk through the corn and visualize the movie all over again.”
Then, as the Hall of Famers emerged from the corn, the Phillies’ offense came out with them.
A group that had been mostly dormant since the All-Star break sent eight hitters to the plate in the first inning. They blended the modern game with a more traditional brand of pressure.
Schwarber led off the game and homered on the third pitch from Twins right-hander Taj Bradley.
What would Shoeless Joe Jackson have made of a leadoff hitter with 36 home runs?
The Phillies did not stop there.
They made Bradley throw 29 more pitches in the inning, kept traffic on the bases and manufactured another run on Bryson Stott’s RBI single.
Shoeless Joe probably could have appreciated that part, too.
“Anytime you’re able to score runs in the first inning, especially on the visiting team, where our guy goes out there and has to settle in, you try to give them that cushion,” Schwarber said. “It’s something we pride ourselves on.”
Then it was Aaron Nola’s turn.
A two-run lead must have felt unfamiliar. Nola entered the night having received five total runs of support over his last five starts.
This time, he had room to work.
And he dealt.
Maybe it was the vintage uniforms that brought out “Vintage Nols.” Maybe it was the absence of ABS, which made the night feel more traditional and gave him more freedom with the edges of the zone. Maybe it is just that Nola has looked like a different pitcher since the start of July.
The last explanation is probably the truest.
With no Statcast in the ballpark and no advanced metrics on the scoreboard, it felt right to track the start the old-fashioned way.
Five innings. Five hits. One run. Nine strikeouts.
Nola generated 14 swings and misses. All nine of his strikeouts were swinging.
That might be a simple way to explain it, but it still tells the story.
He gave the Phillies a chance to win. With real run support, including another Schwarber homer, a two-run shot, and a Harper RBI single, that kind of start looked even better.
Luis Arraez would tally three hits, and Brandon Marsh would leave the yard as well, reaching four times. 
Nola has now completed at least five innings in eight straight starts. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in seven of those eight.
Mattingly sees a pitcher who has had to adjust without the same fastball he once had.
“He’s got to learn to pitch without the 96,” Mattingly said. “Changing speeds, keeping guys off-balance. I thought today was a great example of using the breaking balls for strikes, swinging on the fastball up, just changing what he does all the time.”
Nola said it is not about overpowering hitters at this point. It is digging deep.
“For me, it’s not going out there and competing to find any way I can to get the batter out and limit runs and damage,” Nola said. “I just try to compete as hard as I can, even if I don’t have all my stuff early.”
For a pitcher who has spent so much of this season trying to find the version of himself the Phillies have known for years, this was another step in the right direction.
It came in the right place — and closed out a 14-straight game stretch by the Phillies.
Nola called it one of the more unique starts of his career.
“It was a really nice place here, beautiful field,” Nola said. “Fans were great. So it was really cool to check this one off, and I’ll definitely look back at this later on in my career.”
It was a night built on appreciation.
And a franchise surrounded by its past, getting a needed win from its present.
At the Field of Dreams.
This story originally appeared on NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com.

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