One Day in Iowa

This originally appeared on my Medium and Twitter (@BFBaumgartner) accounts on Aug. 13, 2021.

Apparently White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson waits for no one — not even an amateur videographer trying to work his iPhone.

At approximately 9:54 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, Anderson drilled Yankees’ lefty Zack Britton’s first pitch into an awaiting cornfield in right field.

Anderson’s two-run homer to walk off the Bronx Bombers sent the supporters of the Pale Hose into delirium amid the crowd of 8,000 — myself included.

Frustrated that I’m not too handy manipulating a phone at times and that don’t have that moment on video aside, it’s a sequence I’ll never forget.

It was the perfect ending to an excursion and road trip that means more to me than my mother, Gloria, might even realize.

With the White Sox taking a 7–4 lead into the top of the ninth and closer Liam Hendriks on the mound, I was primed to get the final out on my phone.

After Hendriks responded with two strikeouts following a Tyler Wade to start the frame, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton had different ideas.

As Judge and Stanton proceeded to both launch two-run homers of their own into the Iowa night, all I could do was look around in disbelief.

But thank goodness for Anderson, who continues to help #ChangeTheGame on Chicago’s South Side and creating a lifelong memory for many.

When Major League Baseball announced plans in 2019 to conduct the first-ever game to be played in Iowa on the “Field of Dreams” site, we went to work.

And by “we,” I mean my mother and myself planting the seed in the mind of my father, Gary, a White Sox season-ticket holder since 1991.

The Gary Baumgartner family had to be represented in Dyersville, Iowa on the night Major League Baseball would come to Iowa.

Failure wasn’t an option.

Not to be denied by the reprieve provided by the pandemic postponing things off for a year, my father came through on Christmas.

He would indeed buy her a pair of tickets.

To be her running mate on a historic journey into the Iowa cornfields — words can’t do that justice.

“Field of Dreams” is my all-time favorite baseball movie and I’m not exactly sure why.

Not the athletic type because of my cerebral palsy, I didn’t play much catch with my father growing up or play much organized sports.

That was left up in large part to my twin brother, Brett.

But that film has always resonated deeply with me and I had the opportunity to first visit the site in 2007 with a friend and his father.

That couldn’t have even prepared me for what happened Thursday night.

From the moment Kevin Costner emerged through the corn in right field with the White Sox and Yankees following suit, you could hear a pin drop.

That’s when it truly hit me — the significance of what we were about to see.

When he asked, ‘Is this heaven?’ and the crowd answered ‘Iowa,’ an out of body experience commenced.

Ditto for walking through the corn to get to the field after taking many photos and video on the movie site itself.

Was I really here to witness this in person?

As I tried to avoid pinching myself and not wipe the smile off my face in that moment, indeed I was there.

I needle my mother at times for her “dual” baseball fandom when it comes to Chicago.

Whatever she tries to tell you about cheering for both sides, she’s a Cub fan first and foremost. That’s the way Viola and Ronald Wahl raised her and her three sisters.

But she, much like my father, has a deep appreciation for the game of baseball, which I’m eternally grateful and thankful for.

I’ll readily admit I was a nomad baseball fan growing up.

Chris Sabo and the Reds in 1990 and Kirby Puckett and the Twins in 1991 come to mind, with Deion Sanders and the Braves following.

Both the Reds and Twins would go on to win the World Series in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

But make no mistake about where my Chicago allegiances have always lied — South Side til the day I leave this world.

I’ve been a part of many cool things surrounding the White Sox thanks mostly to my father, a longtime season ticket holder.

New Comiskey Park opened on April 18, 1991, the day Brett and I turned eight and my parents pulled us out of second grade for the day.

The list grew from there.

Game 1 of the 1993 American League Championship Series against the Blue Jays watching Michael Jordan throw out the first pitch before retiring the next day.

Getting into Sports Illustrated while in my father’s seats in April 2001, the 2003 MLB All-Star Game, Game 2 of the 2005 World Series against the Astros.

I watched the 2005 world champions get their rings in April 2006 and saw Jim Thome blast the Sox to a division tiebreaker win in 2008.

I was in the house for Mark Buehrle’s jersey retirement in June 2017.

The major-league debuts of Michael Kopech (Aug. 2018) and Dylan Cease (July 2019) followed in the last few years, for good measure.

Those were all great and I’m thankful for each and every one of them.

But Aug. 12, 2021, on a baseball field in an Iowa cornfield tops the list — bar none.

Thanks, Mama!!