What MLB Players are Saying Ahead of the Field of Dreams Game

Dyersville is packed and the excitement for the third MLB game to take place at the iconic Field of Dreams Movie Site this evening. The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the Minnesota Twins. First pitch is set for 6:30pm CST, and the game will stream exclusively on Netflix.

In an MLB.com piece, Paul Casella caught up with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and interim team manager Don Mattingly to gauge their excitement level for the game. Athletes and sports officials are creatures of habit, despite their jobs having a litany of variables outside of their control, and anything can happen in a neutral site game like this where the spectacle at times overshadows the contest itself.

READ MORE: Iconic Field of Dreams Movie Site Sold to Local Non-Profit

Kyle Schwarber on Playing at the Field of Dreams:

Field of Dreams remains on the metaphorical Mount Rushmore of beloved baseball movies regardless of generation. Kyle Schwarber, who is again having a great year for the recently surging Phillies, spoke about his excitement for the game:

I think it's going to be awesome. I've never been out there before, so I'm excited to see the corn, see the field they actually filmed it at. Just to be in that atmosphere, I think it's going to be really cool. I know they're going to have a lot of different activities and things before the game that'll make it a little bit nostalgic and make it feel like you're playing back in the day. So I feel like it'll be a really cool thing, and hopefully, we have a great time - Kyle Schwarber, per MLB.com

The cornstalks that will serve as a backdrop for the game obviously played a significant role in the movie. Late baseball legends like "Shoeless" Joe Jackson emerged from the corn in Field of Dreams, and as is customary with MLB games held at the site, the players from both teams will make a similar entrance. Players will walk from the original field used in the movie to the new one built to host MLB games.

Phillies Manager Don Mattingly is Used to Games of This Magnitude:

Don Mattingly has had a crazy 12 months. Last year, he was an assistant coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, who took the Los Angeles Dodgers to Game 7 of the World Series before losing. He then took a similar role with the Phillies, but was appointed interim manager after the firing of Rob Thomson earlier in the season, following the team's atrocious start.

Mattingly has been a part of many unique neutral site games in his illustrious MLB career. As the Yankees' hitting coach in 2004, he coached the team during their season opener in Japan. He was the Dodgers manager when they began the 2014 season in Australia, and was the skipper for the Marlins when they played in Fort Bragg in 2016:

These games are fun for me. It's somewhere different. It's something that you remember more vividly than you would just another game somewhere else. I think [Field of Dreams] is a great movie. I like watching it. And I'm excited about going to Iowa - Don Mattingly, per MLB.com

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Find out all you need to know about the MLB at Field of Dreams Game on Thursday, August 13th on USA Today's website.