Aaron Judge on Field of Dreams Game: 'I wish we were playing three games'

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Aaron Judge had only one criticism of the event, if one could really call it a criticism.

"I wish we were playing three games," Judge said Wednesday.

Instead, of course, it was just the one: Thursday night’s much-anticipated Field of Dreams Game against the White Sox played in a temporary venue, adjacent to the site of the famous 1989 movie, seating 7,911.

The visuals were indeed something. The regulation-sized diamond resting quite natural-looking abutting a cornfield. The hand-operated scoreboard in right-center. The house and diamond from the movie sitting that same cornfield-distance away.

Players, wearing throwback uniforms circa 1919 (yes, the year of the Black Sox scandal that forms part of the movie’s plot) from both clubs emerged from the cornstalks in rightfield and lined up on the field. Kevin Costner preceded them onto the field from the cornstalks.

"Everyone’s putting in all this work building the stadium, doing what they need to do, and it’s all for one game," Judge said. "But I know everyone in this clubhouse is excited for it."

The 29-year-old Judge, in saying he’s seen the movie "two or three times," said later: "You see the movie [as a kid], you never think that you’ll actually get a chance to play at the Field of Dreams. But getting this opportunity, getting a chance to walk through the corn, I think it’s going to be a big moment, a special moment. I think it’s good for Major League Baseball that we’re doing this."

DJ LeMahieu, as well as Judge and manager Aaron Boone, said among the most memorable parts of the trip in was when the team buses made their way down the single-lane road to get to the site and were greeted by people by the side of the road holding banners and signs.

"A lot of people out in their driveways," said LeMahieu, who called the site an "iconic place" for a baseball player. "You can tell the excitement in the area to have a game like this going on in the area."

Said Judge: "The bus trip was pretty cool. That’s a time guys are usually on their phones … this time guys were just glued to the windows, staring out at the scenery."

For a variety of reasons, most of them related to logistics as neither team planned to spend all that much time here, treating the game as the business trip it ultimately was. The Yankees, in the thick of a battle for an American League playoff spot, stayed in Kansas City Wednesday night after they took two of three from the Royals in winning a completed series for the ninth time in 10 tries.

SEE PHOTOSSee the scenes from the Field of Dreams Game

On Thursday morning, they flew to Dubuque Regional airport, which is about 35 minutes from the ballpark. They planned to fly to Chicago, where the three-game series will continue Saturday night, immediately after the game. The White Sox, well on their way to coasting to the AL Central title, arrived Thursday morning from Minneapolis with plans to depart for home right after.

But first came the uniqueness of Thursday’s game, which has caused more syrupy verbiage — written and spoken — to spill forth from much of the baseball media than anything in recent memory.

Players for the most part were on board with it all and those who were not — and, despite the narrative surrounding the event, there were more than a few from both organizations who would have preferred a traditional off day in Chicago Thursday and then contesting the full series there — were kept far from the MLB-run televised news conferences.

Still, the majority opinion mirrored Boone’s, who called the entire scene "breathtaking."

"I would say I came in with pretty high expectations," Boone said, "and they were certainly met. It’s really cool. It’s an honor to be here."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.