Collecting Game-used: Getting dirty from the Field of Dreams

Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos

They’ve made these for years ... but I finally bit because this one was a little different from the rest.

My newest item in the Collecting Game-used series is one where it’s fully authenticated, meaning it’s unquestionably real, but I can’t document every little piece of the action. It’s a little piece of the game from the Field of Dreams site in little ol’ Dyersville, Iowa, (population 4,477) and one that you can find with relative ease.

What’s the deal? Well, it’s not some bat, ball or jersey from a player involved in this one -- it's not like memorabilia you’ll see here most months.

Keep reading to see the details.

The sealed vial was a far larger size than expected -- this one was taller than a baseball card.

THE BASICS ...
Game-used dirt (MLB Authenticated): Cedar Rapids Kernels at Quad City River Bandits -- the MiLB at Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 9, 2022.
Watch it in action: The full game is here (or below)

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The matchup & results: Using their more historic era names and throwback uniforms for the “Shoeless” Joe Jackson years, the Cedar Rapids Bunnies met the Davenport Blue Sox and the result was a 7-2 win for the Bunnies.

What's Buzz-worthy: This was the first game played between minor league teams at the venue made on the property for the 1989 film Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Amy Madigan. MiLB will return to the site late this year with a game between the Iowa Cubs and St. Paul Saints on Aug. 9 and that one will be seen on the MLB Network. A few days later (Aug. 13), MLB will return to the site for a showcase event between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies and that one will be seen on Netflix as part of their new deal. ... Now that I have all those basics out of the way, the MLB Authentication program collected this dirt as part of a larger batch (its numbering noted in its info) before this individual bottle got filled and its own sticker code, too. There are specks of white chalk in the mix, reinforcing that this was, indeed, dirt from around home plate for the showcase event with approximately 8,000 fans in attendance. MLB has made these vials of dirt for literally decades now -- a rather elemental piece of the game -- for both standard days at MLB venues, postseason and other showcase events and then this one. Since the price was just under $30, I bit -- especially since there are far fewer MiLB options than big-league dirt. Yes, this is pure novelty ... but it’s as close to all of the action as it gets.

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