In Field of Dreams, Terence Mann says he always wanted to play at Ebbets Field. Ray Kinsella recalls reading an interview in which the reclusive writer described that dream, prompting Ray to seek him out in Boston. The detail connects Mann to the older, idealistic vision of baseball that drives the film.
Ebbets Field was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 until 1957. It became especially famous as the place where Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Dodgers in 1947. The stadium was demolished in 1960, so Mann’s wish carries a strong sense of lost baseball history: he longs for a ballpark that no longer exists.
The film’s central supernatural premise brings past and present together through Ray’s baseball field in Iowa. Ray builds the field after hearing the mysterious voice, "If you build it, he will come," and the ghosts of baseball players begin appearing. Viewers sometimes confuse Ebbets Field with Fenway Park, where Ray and Mann later attend a game, but Mann’s stated dream specifically concerns Ebbets Field.