The first -- of many, we'll assume -- Field of Dreams Game happened Thursday night and, boy, it did not disappoint. The White Sox defeated the New York Yankees, 9-8, in a dramatic slugfest that saw six runs scored in the ninth inning alone. Regardless of setting, this was an amazing baseball game. That it drew the eye of a national audience and casual fans all over the place was an even bigger win for Major League Baseball.
Oh, and there were eight home runs.
I remember going into the game thinking something along the lines of, "I'm glad there are lots of sluggers in this game, so we'll surely at least see one home run into the cornfield." How cute, huh? Let's rank the eight we saw.
8. Brett Gardner
This was the only run between the fourth and the ninth innings, believe it or not. It was the second pitch from Lance Lynn in the sixth inning and Gardner drove it into the corn in right field. It cut the White Sox lead to 7-4. It was a cool shot, for sure, as all home runs are, but it felt pretty trivial at the time. In hindsight, it's the least exciting homer we saw.
7. Seby Zavala
In the bottom of the fourth, Zavala launched an opposite field homer into the corn, pushing the White Sox lead to 7-3. In many other games, it would've been a crushing, deciding blow.
In this game, it's relegated to the seventh-most exciting home run, even with the legendary Kevin Costner talking over it.
6. José Abreu
Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long for a shot into the cornfield. Abreu did it in the first inning with a hard liner that barely nudged its way over the left-field wall.
As noted by Joe Buck, that was the first home run in MLB history in Iowa.
5. Eloy Jiménez
Jiménez gave the White Sox a 5-3 lead with this three-run shot into the maize maze.
Of note here is that Jiménez missed the first several months of the season after a torn pec in the final days of spring training. He struggled in his first several games back, but has been on fire recently. He's hitting .433 in his last eight games and has five homers in his last five games.
Also, I think this was the homer where we all started to realize the ball carries to right field in this park.
4. Aaron Judge, part I
Speaking of which, it was merely a 1-0 White Sox lead with Lynn just one strike away from ending the inning when Judge made things a lot more interesting.
It seemed innocent enough at the time. Little did we know the barrage to follow.
3. Aaron Judge, part II
Two outs in the ninth, with the Yankees down three and a runner on, Judge made things a lot more interesting against All-Star closer Liam Hendriks.
2. Giancarlo Stanton
And then Stanton with the laser to put the Yankees on top:
1. Tim Anderson
There was only one right answer for the top spot, obviously. It wasn't just that it was a walkoff. Check out Anderson's reaction right after hitting it, yet another ball going opposite field into the maze in right, Anderson's swagger around the bases, the fireworks, the celebration. This one has it all.
Just a breathtakingly perfect ending to an amazing game. Major League Baseball captured the attention of so many people with this gimmick game and the two teams rose to the occasion and made this a huge win for the league. The game isn't going anywhere for awhile now, but the best bet is nothing tops the first.
