Binge Media Sports: Shoeless Joe Jackson v. Rick Vaughn

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to this special broadcast.  My name is Luke Norris, and we’re in the bottom of the ninth on a beautiful night for baseball. The sun has set, the lights have come on, and we’re ready to continue this game under the beautiful moonlight. We’re here in Iowa witnessing a matchup I never thought I would see, but I’ve been told that this a place where dreams come true, and we haven’t been disappointed tonight. Sitting to my left is longtime play-by-play man, Harry Doyle. Harry has been calling most of the action this evening, hilariously I might add, but unfortunately seems to have passed out next to me. Perhaps that empty bottle of Jack Daniels has something to do with that, but it looks as if I’ll be taking over from here.

The crowd tonight isn’t very big, but let’s be honest, there’s not that much room here anyway. All I see is one little set of bleachers down the first base line. There’s a woman sitting with her young daughter, and I’ve been told she is the wife of Ray Kinsella, the owner of this beautiful field and honorary manager of what’s being called the “Field of Dreams” team. Sitting one row down from here seems to be award-winning and controversial author, Terence Mann, who has been reading a baseball encyclopedia throughout the game. Joining them is a couple of the wives from the Indians’ side of things, Lynn Wells-Taylor and Suzanne Dorn, but Mrs. Dorn has rarely sat down for the action. She seems to have just been talking to any player that even looks in her general direction. Also joining us tonight is Cleveland Indians owner, Rachel Phelps, who has been the most vocal patron this evening, but hasn’t been cheering for the team that she owns, so I’m not sure what’s going on there. And sitting in silence throughout the entire night has been a beautiful, elderly woman wearing all blue. She even has a very elegant blue hat on to match the rest of her ensemble.

In case you’re just joining us, the Indians are clinging to a 4-3 lead. The starting pitcher for the Indians was veteran right-hander, Eddie Harris, who is actually still in the game as we enter this ninth inning.

The “Field of Dreams” squad countered with Claude “Lefty” Williams, who got into trouble very early. After a lead-off double from Cleveland center fielder Willie Mays Hayes, the Indians struck first as he scored on a sharp single to left by third baseman Roger Dorn, who’s also made a few great stops down at the hot corner. He would score soon after on a mammoth homerun by Cuban defector, Pedro Cerrano.

The pitch that Williams threw to Cerrano really didn’t make sense to me. The scouting report I saw says that Cerrano really has a problem hitting the curveball, but, and I don’t quite understand the wording here, hits the straight ball very much. But Williams just served it up on a platter anyway. It’s almost as if he was trying to throw the game, but I suppose that’s not for me to decide. Actually, I don’t even remember if the baseball ever got to catcher John Kinsella. Hmmm…I wonder if he’s related to honorary manager Ray Kinsella. That’s for another time, I guess. Either way, Kinsella had seen enough and replaced Williams with Eddie Cicotte, who has been in command for the rest of the way. His only hiccup came in the 7th, where he surrendered a solo shot to catcher Jake Taylor, whose run around the bases reminded me of a kid pretending to be a big leaguer. He ran as if there was nobody watching, which was nice to see.

The “Field of Dreams” offense has only come in the form of solo home runs. Made up of players wearing many different jerseys, it seems that most of the guys are swinging the bat as if they haven’t played baseball in years. I heard rumors that Ty Cobb was supposed to play, but apparently nobody could stand the son of a bitch, so the team told him to stick it. Anyway, we saw solo shots from Kinsella in the third, Gil Hodges in the fifth, and Mel Ott in the eighth.  We could have been tied at four had Willie Mays Hayes not leapt into the corn to rob “Buck” Weaver of a homerun in the seventh, but here we are at 4-3 in the ninth.

Hodges is due to lead off, but it looks as though he’s going to be pulled for a pinch hitter. I think that Jake Taylor may have run into Gil’s ankle as he tried to leg out that slow roller last inning, so instead we’re going to see rookie Archie Graham. I don’t have a ton of info on Graham, except that he’s from Chisholm, Minnesota and has never batted in a big league game.

The veteran Harris readies himself on the mound as Graham steps into the box. He looks a little timid. Taylor flashes the sign, but Harris shakes him off not once, not twice, but three times and steps off of the rubber. It’s almost as if Harris is reacting to something that Graham did at the plate. Not sure what’s happening, but Graham has a little smirk as he steps back in and stares down the big league pitcher. Harris is once again ready to go. Taylor drops the sign again, and Harris deals from the windup. Graham swings and connects with the ball. It’s into the left-centerfield gap as Hayes runs towards it. Graham is going to have a stand-up doub….no wait, he’s gonna try and stretch this into a triple! Hayes fields it and throws towards Dorn, but Graham flops face-first into third ahead of the throw, and wraps his arms around the bag. What an amazing moment we just witnessed.

Hang on folks…there seems to be some commotion from the bleachers. It seems the young girl is in trouble. WE NEED A DOCTOR! Harry, wake up! Call a doctor! Wait a minute, Graham is running over from third. Wait, why is he stopping at those rocks? Okay, there he goes. He’s, he’s….what in the hell just happened? Graham has transformed. Yes, you heard me right. Graham has magically transformed into an old man in a black overcoat and a doctor’s bag. Okay…all I just heard was “this child’s choking to death.” Ray Kinsella is over there as well, holding his daughter as this mystery man is smacking the girl on the back. Come on…come on. Oh, thank God, she’s okay. Folks, I can’t explain to you what I just saw, but they were right. This place is truly something special. So if you can hear me, then get over here immediately. Every single player has taken his cap off and has made their way to the rock path to check on things. Just to clarify, folks, young Karin Kinsella is just fine. The story here is Archie Graham, who these players are now calling “Doc”. Hang on, he’s going to speak.

“Ray, I just want to thank you for bringing enough magic into my life to make my dreams come true. But now, I best be getting on home.” He’s now looking at our next batter. “Win this one for me, will you?” And he winked.  And just like that, he walks away arm in arm with the woman dressed in blue, their shadows slowly disappearing under the moonlight.

Wow, what a scene we just saw here in this magical Iowa cornfield. It looks as if we’re going to resume the game, and that’s going to be all for Eddie Harris. Indians manager Lou Brown is calling for the hard throwing right hander, Rick Vaughn. And for some reason, our music technician, Lloyd Dobler, is standing with a boombox over his head playing “Wild Thing”. That seems really strange, but after what I’ve seen tonight, anything is possible at this place. Wearing number 99, Vaughn looks ready to go. I actually thought he might get the start tonight, but Brown went with Harris, maybe because he looks as if he could be playing for the “Field of Dreams” team. Vaughn is warming up, and he is throwing really hard. He’s really pumped up, and he probably should be, because coming to the plate is….”Shoeless” Joe Jackson.

Now if you’re scoring at home, the triple hit by Graham is official and both teams have agreed that there is a runner on third, but there’s not actually anyone there. Wow, I haven’t heard the phrase “ghost runner on third” since I was a kid.

This is a dream matchup, folks. This is pure power versus pure skill. You should see the intensity in Vaughn right now.

But the always ready Jackson looks ready to go as well. You could cut the electricity in here with a knife.

4-3, bottom of the ninth. Taylor sets and Vaughn delivers. Fastball, wide.

“Juuust a bit outside. Tried the corner and missed.”

Oh, Harry Doyle is awake, ladies and gentlemen. Nope, there he goes again. But thanks for the dynamite drop-in, Harry. The count is 1-0. There was some zip on that fastball. Jackson steps out of the box. I don’t think he was expecting that kind of velocity. Vaughn comes to the plate again. Swung on and missed! Strike one. Vaughn hit 97 on the gun on that one. He looks to be just going right after Joe. One ball, one strike. That last pitch was moving outside, so Jackson has moved up a step in the box. I don’t know if I’d do that against a man with the nickname, “Wild Thing”. I think I’d be telling Jackson to look out for one in his ear right about now. Vaughn is ready now and fires again. WHOA, look out! I told you that would happen. Rick Vaughn just took a run at Jackson’s head. I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but that 98 mph fastball could have taken “Shoeless” Joe’s head off, and the “Field of Dreams” bench isn’t happy about it. Maybe we need to get the doctor back here, just in case.

Cooler heads have prevailed, and the count stands at 2-1. Jackson digs back in and we’re ready to go. Vaughn fires another fastball and….a swing and a miss from Jackson. Vaughn is only getting stronger at this point, as that one reached 99 miles an hour. 2-2 now as Taylor whips the ball back to Wild Thing. Jackson has reached base every at-bat today, only to be stranded each time, but he wasn’t facing Vaughn all evening. Jackson is down to his last strike as Vaughn delivers again. No surprise here. Fastball again, on the corner for…..BALL THREE! Wow, that was close. I’d say if baseball had an instant replay system that actually worked, that one might have been looked at again, but now we’re at a full count, and Rick Vaughn is now throwing triple digit fastballs. I actually just heard Lou Brown in the dugout telling Vaughn to “forget about the curveball, Ricky. Give him the heater.” I think the game has come down to this.

4-3 Indians here in the bottom of the ninth. There is a runner, sort of, on third with nobody out. We’ve seen some pretty amazing things here tonight, and this is no different. We have two icons facing off in their first, and most likely only battle to perhaps decide this fantasy matchup. Rick Vaughn has come with five straight fastballs to “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. God, I never thought I’d say that sentence. I’m pretty sure we’re about to see a sixth. I don’t think Taylor is even giving him signs anymore. I think this is a test of will between Vaughn and Jackson and we’re about to see who wants it more. Full count and both teams are on their feet, as is everyone in attendance, including myself. Well, everyone except Harry Doyle. Vaughn, from the windup, kicks and fires……

AND THERE’S A SHOT TO STRAIGHTAWAY CENTER! My God, does that baseball look majestic in this moonlit sky. Hayes looks up and this ball is GONE INTO THE CORNFIELD! A GAME WINNING HOMERUN FOR “SHOELESS” JOE JACKSON! What an incredible finish! I’ve seen some things in my lifetime, ladies and gentlemen, but I never thought I would be a part of something like this. What an amazing ending to an amazing night. The “Field of Dreams” team has defeated the “Major League” Cleveland Indians by a score of 5 to 4! I will say that both teams put forth a great effort tonight and I will truly never forget it. There is just something about baseball. Thank you Ray Kinsella, for providing the setting for this epic confrontation. There is something about this field, this game. It’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and could be again. For Harry Doyle, I’m Luke Norris, wishing you farewell from the Field of Dreams in Iowa. Oh, and Mr. Kinsella…I know you’re having a catch and I certainly don’t want to interrupt that, but I just thought you should know that people are coming.

I want to thank all of you who made this last week so much fun for me. It was nice to revisit Field of Dreams and Major League as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of two of the best baseball movies ever made. I especially want to thank all of you who voted to determine the outcome of this article. Field of Dreams obviously took the win with 64% of the vote (that’s 36% for Major League for the math-impaired). I know this was long, and I thank those who took the time to read through it. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun writing anything as I did writing this piece, so I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please feel free to comment on it below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris to let me know what you thought about it. I’ll be back soon with updates on Round 2 of the NHL and NBA playoffs, so continue to check back in with Binge Media for all your sports needs.