Editor’s Note: “This Day in White Sox History” will be an article series on Sox On 35th that calls out some of the best memories for White Sox fans over the years.
One year ago today, the White Sox made baseball history at the Field Of Dreams Game on August 12, 2021, in Dyersville Iowa. It was the first MLB game ever played in Iowa, and it was between the White Sox and the Yankees.
The game was played in the middle of a corn field, and only seven thousand people were there to witness baseball history. The game featured plenty of offense in a game started by White Sox newcomer Lance Lynn and the Yankees’ Andrew Heaney. The White Sox launched four homers that night, the first one off the bat of Sox slugger Jose Abreu.
Abreu made MLB history with that swing, making him the first player to ever hit a home run in the state of Iowa.
In what was clearly becoming a back-and-forth affair, down 3-2 in the 3rd, Eloy Jimenez launched an opposite field shot into the corn to give the Sox a 5-3 lead.
At the time, Jimenez was one of the hottest hitters in baseball, and he showed it on a national stage.
Even with all the offense, the White Sox soon felt as though they were close to putting the game away when Seby Zavala added to the home run parade by hitting one of his own. Similar to the Jimenez home run, Zavala went opposite field.
Though, the game would be hardly over, even as we approach the ninth inning. The Yankees got to Liam Hendriks late in this one, pulling ahead and looking as though they were going to stun the White Sox with a comeback of their own.
There was still the bottom of the ninth, however. After a walk to Seby Zavala, Tim Anderson stepped in against Yankees lefty Zack Britton.
The rest is baseball history.
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Featured Image: Zach Boyden-Holmes / The Register / USA TODAY Sports