Major League Baseball's return to the Field of Dreams brought with it a substantial piece of Cooperstown's legacy.

The pregame ceremony before the Minnesota Twins played the Philadelphia Phillies — held near the farmland where the 1989 fantasy was filmed — featured 26 Hall of Famers emerging from the outfield corn, just as the ghost players did in the movie.

With some of the loudest cheers reserved for former Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and former Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the crowd of about 8,000 at the new ballpark in northeast Iowa absorbed the surreal atmosphere as the aging stars walked onto the field for their introductions.

Fireworks were launched from the cornfield during the national anthem, and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber followed with his own resounding blast — a towering shot to right field off Twins starter Taj Bradley's third pitch of the game, setting the tone for a 7-1 victory on Thursday night.

Having stolen the show at the inaugural 2021 event, which was staged on the same footprint in a temporary setup that also hosted the 2022 game, Kevin Costner was notably absent.

Yet the film's true standout — the restless farmer Ray Kinsella, who reconnects with his late father through a game of catch on his front-yard ballfield — lent his voice to the pregame feature, injecting a dose of old-school sentimentality into the contemporary broadcast on streaming titan Netflix.

Both teams emerged from the cornfield together to take their places along the lines as they had on opening day, and Twins All-Star Byron Buxton — who had been activated from the injured list that afternoon to play — took the microphone to invoke a line from James Earl Jones, who had portrayed the author Terence Mann in the film.

"The one constant through all the years has been baseball," Buxton said, before Schwarber followed with a brief speech on a perfect late-summer night, after heavy rain had moved through the area earlier in the day.

Then came the legends, and living ones at that, unlike those wool-clad lads in the movie.

Schmidt and Steve Carlton wore Phillies uniforms alongside Jim Kaat, who had played for both teams.

Mauer and Bert Blyleven donned Twins jerseys.

The rest — Andruw Jones, Harold Baines, Fred McGriff, Adrián Beltré, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Cal Ripken Jr., Iván Rodríguez, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Tony Pérez, Tony La Russa, Jeff Kent, Fergie Jenkins, Joe Torre, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Rollie Fingers, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman — formed a semicircle around the diamond, representing about one-third of the Cooperstown contingent still alive.

This was the largest gathering of its kind at a ballpark, not counting the annual Hall of Fame ceremonies in upstate New York, since the 2008 All-Star Game that marked the final season of the old Yankee Stadium.

Phillies manager Don Mattingly enjoyed the brief pregame interaction before the grand entrance, as many in the group had been his contemporaries during his playing days in the 1980s and 1990s, and a few others, including Jones and Kent, he had coached with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It was unquestionably a pleasure to see the boys,” Mattingly remarked.

Before the game, Buxton played catch with his 12-year-old son on the nearby movie set, which is open to the public for free on days without events.

Twins manager Derek Shelton did the same with his 78-year-old father, a former teacher who had coached him in high school baseball.

Shelton later noted that his arm was not in great shape.

“One never reaches an age where an experience like that loses its emotional weight—sharing it with your father is profoundly moving,” Shelton said.

Mattingly, whose son happens to be the club’s general manager, found himself transported back to childhood games played with his brothers in Indiana upon stepping off the team bus.

“This place evokes my childhood,” Mattingly remarked.

“You’d venture down a dirt road, and suddenly a cornfield would appear, followed by an open field.”

Both teams wore throwback uniforms — the Twins in home attire from their first season in 1961 and the Phillies in road jerseys from around 1940 — matching the manually operated scoreboard in right field.

The permanent ballpark, built to host a wide range of events—including the chance to regularly stage MLB games—also offers numerous amenities, such as the video board in left field, a modern sound system, and, of course, indoor plumbing.

The farm's atmosphere was as compelling as the ballpark's vibrant energy, with its natural sponsor, John Deere, pledging $100,000 for each home run hit to support the hunger-relief organization Feeding America.

The distinctive atmosphere did not negate the realities of the regular season's final stretch, as both the Twins and the Phillies remained deeply embroiled in their respective wild-card races.

“We’re not in Minnesota for three days,” Phillies star Bryce Harper said, “but we’re still facing the Twins three times, and we’ve still got to secure some victories.”

Even in defeat, the Twins relished the opportunity to be part of something far more significant than merely the 123rd fixture on their calendar.

"As you progress through this game, gaining experience and age, the excitement of reaching the major leagues and stepping onto a big-league field starts to fade," catcher Ryan Jeffers said.

"Moments like this tend to bring back that thrill, that energy, and those goosebumps similar to your first day."

For exhaustive Major League Baseball coverage, refer to the Associated Press's comprehensive reporting.