Spirited play by youths on Field of Dreams

DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- The youth game Wednesday at the iconic "Field of Dreams" movie site was titled “A Dream Fulfilled,” and to the players, coaches and fans from the 14-and-under DREAM and White Sox ACE programs, the moniker couldn’t have been more appropriate.

ACE topped DREAM, 8-7, in four innings after a lengthy weather delay, but players on each side agreed that the adventure reached far beyond the final score.

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“It’s amazing. It’s not something you would ever dream of,” ACE center fielder Ezra Essex said. “As a kid, I watched the movie and I just thought maybe I’d come here for fun one day, take a trip and see the field. And now I’m playing here. To be out here with my guys that I’ve played with for a long time, it’s just a great experience.”

The game represented a final lead-in to the MLB at Field of Dreams game on Thursday. The White Sox will play the Yankees in the first Major League game held in Iowa. While tickets to that game were included in the youth teams' experience this week, the excitement of being able to play on the movie site took all the focus Wednesday.

? 'Into the corn!' Dream grand slam in Iowa

Suspense was built accordingly. ACE watched the movie as a team at a local Beggars Pizza in Chicago, and DREAM gathered on Tuesday night following a team dinner to take it in as well. For a movie made in 1989, it’s certainly stood the test of time as players on both sides tossed out their favorite scenes during pregame BP.

Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, throwing batting practice to one of the White Sox ghosts. A spirit retreating into the corn, calling out, “I’m melting!” as he disappeared. And of course, the emotional “Hey, Dad ... wanna have a catch?” moment.

“It takes me back to me playing catch with my dad,” said Kenny Fullman, ACE program manager. “[That scene] was really special to me. I think about that all the time, and I think about it a lot being out here and actually on the field.”

For all the buildup to the youth game, the teams got just one half-inning in the books before inclement weather forced everyone to shelter in a nearby barn for nearly two hours. Whatever ACE did during its downtime worked: The squad emerged to steal six bases and score seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a grand slam into the corn beyond left field by Brandon Stinson.

Stinson's stroke impressed legendary White Sox player and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas so much that Thomas went to the home team’s bench to interview Stinson live on FS1, with the Hall of Famer ending the chat with “you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

A dream fulfilled, indeed.

"This trip has been a lot of fun," DREAM third baseman Gabriel Rivera said. "We have a bunch of kids that are just great to be around, and we are playing on the same field after we watched the movie. It's so fun. Just a great experience."

DREAM chipped away methodically at its deficit, then roared to life in the fourth to pull to within one run before the sun began to set and the game was called at the end of the frame because of darkness.

With their playing duties satisfied, the kids were now free to shift their excitement to Thursday's history-making event.

"The opportunities we get with ACE are amazing," Essex said. "I think that, without a doubt, it is one of the best programs that anybody could come on and play for, because they give you the opportunity to play at these places, but they also make you a better person, a better man.

“There was a lot of jealousy back in New York,” DREAM Academy program manager Steven Blitzer said with a chuckle. “I could watch [the movie] 30 times, and nothing compares to actually being here. We’ve been treated like Major Leaguers the whole way, from the flights out here, to the hotel, to kids taking BP, and [Thursday] is the Yankees-White Sox game, and it’ll just continue to be an amazing experience.”