Team of Dreams 2017

The Team of Dreams event on Sunday September 3 at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville was a huge success  I even got to meet Chicago Cubs great Mark Grace.

The day not only featured nearly a dozen Hall of Fame baseball greats like Ozzie Smith, Mark Grace, Reggie Jackson, Frank Thomas and more....but also featured the three main characters from the movie "Major League".  Charlie Sheen Corbin Bernsen, and Tom Berenger(pictured here).  In this photo they are re-creating a pose from one of the movie posters from Major League.

The day also featured soccer great Hope Solo.  We know she's a great soccer player, but we now know she can also handle herself on the softball field playing a stellar 2nd base and leading off the game with a sharp single to left.  She had 2 more hits in the game making her 3 for 3 at the plate.  Hope also made my day be remarking "Your pretty speedy" after I made my way to second base after a hit in the 3rd inning.  I'm sure she's had a chance to meet a long list of great athletes over the years.  I doubt I added to that list

Of course a day at the Field of Dreams wouldn't be complete without a visit from the Ghost Players featured in the movie "Field of Dreams". Here's a photo of the current group of Ghost Players and the umpires for the game.

Even though the game was designed to bring together some of the greatest baseball players of all time, it was clear the crowd favorite was Charlie Sheen.  He worked the crowd with one liners, did a stellar job in pitching a complete game and even stopped long enough for a picture with yours truly.  He did let a  curse word or two leak into the microphone but that didn't diminish the great time the fans had.  I had the honor of being Charlie's catcher for 2 innings.  During my time behind the plate Charlie only gave up one hit and didn't let anyone score, so all in all I thought we made a good tandem.  I even managed to score a run for Charlie in the bottom of  the 3rd.  .Charlie's record at the field of dreams is now 1-0.  At the end of the game I asked Charlie if he would come back for another Team of Dreams event and he answered with just one word, DONE!

It is safe to say that most of the crowd was starstruck in getting to see some of their favorite players and actors.  But Charlie Sheen seemed equally star struck when he got to meet Andre "the Hawk" Dawson(pictured here).  Charlie also had great things to say about Wade Boggs and Reggie Jackson.. And Charlie seemed to enjoy reminiscing with his movie co-stars Tom Berenger and Corbin Bernsen.  Their conversation ranged from behind the scene stories from Major League to the "not so nice" hotels they often stayed in.

All in all it was a great day at the Field of Dreams including the showing of the movie "Field of Dreams" after the celebrity softball game.  This event is a must for the bucket list of any baseball fan.  The crowd on Sunday featured a couple from Long Island, NY as well as people from Scotland and Australia.  Needless the say the 30 minute trip from Dubuque to Dyersville was well worth it for me,  After playing in the Team of Dream celebrity game for the past two years, I think now it's time to hang up my spikes and let someone else enjoy a day of fun at next year's Team of Dreams event.  Who know maybe I'll return for the 2019 Team of Dreams game.

Ken