[Nick Soulis]

Series #240



2004 Cleveland Indians
Record: 80-82
Finish: 3rd in AL Central
Manager: Eric Wedge
Ball Park: Jacobs Field
WAR Leader: Travis Hafner
Franchise Record: 10-10
2004 Season Record: 9-0
Hall of Famers: (1)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2004.shtml

1930 Boston Braves
Record: 70-84
Finish: 6th in NL
Manager: Bill McKechnie
Ball Park: Braves Field
WAR Leader: Bob Smith (4.8)
Franchise Record: 2-8
1930 Season Record: 2-1
Hall of Famers: (4)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BSN/1930.shtml
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“HEAVEN’S DUGOUT – SERIES #240 PREVIEW SHOW”
Live from the Field of Dreams – Dyersville, Iowa
Host: Bob Costas
Panelists: Sandy Koufax, Ernie Harwell, and David Ortiz



Segment 1 – Setting the Scene

Costas:
“Good evening, everyone. The stalks are whispering again in Iowa, and with them comes another chapter in this endless pilgrimage we call the Field of Dreams Tournament. Series #240 brings together two teams separated by time and temperament—the 1930 Boston Braves and the 2004 Cleveland Indians. Both carried the burden of transition years, yet within them lived sparks of greatness. Al Michaels and David Cone will have the call tomorrow, but for now, our panel gathers to dig into the ghosts, the glory, and the possibilities. Sandy, Ernie, Big Papi—it’s an unusual matchup.”

Harwell:
“Indeed it is, Bob. These 1930 Braves were a bridge between eras. You had Rabbit Maranville, still darting around like a man half his age, George Sisler playing out his twilight, and Lance Richbourg, one of the purest contact hitters in the league that year. They lost a lot more games than they won, but that lineup had heritage—and heart. In Iowa, those things matter more than the standings.”

Koufax:
“I love what you said, Ernie. The numbers didn’t define them, but the craft did. The 1930 Braves could hit—remember, that was the year offense went wild across baseball. Everyone was swinging heavy lumber. But pitching? That’s where the Indians might make them pay. The 2004 club had young arms that could bring it—Sabathia, Westbrook, and a bullpen that could shorten the game.”

Ortiz:
“I like that matchup, Sandy, but I don’t think the Indians are gonna just walk through these guys. You put Sisler in that cornfield, he’s gonna find grass all night. That man could hit in any century. And Maranville? That’s the kind of energy that changes a clubhouse. These old-school guys, they’re tough, man. No scouting reports, no analytics—just baseball from the gut.”

Segment 2 – Legacy Lines

Costas:
“Let’s talk legacy. The 1930 Braves may not be champions, but the roster was a museum—Maranville, Sisler, Les Bell. And on the other side, you’ve got Cleveland trying to define itself between the powerhouse of the 1990s and the resurgence of the 2010s. Sandy, what’s at stake in a series like this?”

Koufax:
“Identity, Bob. The 2004 Indians were building something—they were young, raw, and on the verge of another great Cleveland run. For them, this is a chance to show they belong among the lineages of Lofton and Belle before them, or Ramirez and Lindor after. For the Braves, it’s pride. It’s a chance for men like Sisler and Maranville, often remembered as past their prime, to show they could still lace them up with anyone.”

Harwell:
“And what a story that is! These Braves came from a quieter time, before night games, before planes, before the modern showbiz of sport. You put them here in Dyersville and they fit right in. There’s a poetry to it—a kind of redemption for teams that history overlooked.”

Ortiz:
“You know what I see? Opportunity. Those Cleveland bats—Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Casey Blake—they’re big dudes with power. But in a place like this, the ball doesn’t carry like it does at Jacobs Field. It’s heavy air, old-school baseball. You’re gonna have to manufacture runs, not wait for three-run homers.”

Segment 3 – Key Players and X-Factors



Costas:
“David, you mentioned Hafner—he’s the modern slugger in this matchup, but who’s the heartbeat of each team?”

Ortiz:
“For Cleveland? It’s Victor Martinez. Switch-hitting catcher, handles the staff, calls a smart game, and can hit from both sides. If he gets rolling, Cleveland’s gonna roll. For the Braves, I’m looking at Rabbit Maranville. He’s the kind of guy who turns a grounder into a story. Gets under your skin, fires up his team. That’s what you need in a short series like this.”

Koufax:
“I’ll throw in another name—Ed Brandt. The Braves’ left-hander. He had a live arm for the time and could change speeds well enough to confuse modern hitters. If he can command the corners, he could frustrate those free-swingers from 2004.”

Harwell:
“And don’t forget the weather, gentlemen. These October nights in Iowa, cool air, a little dew on the grass—pitchers love it. That’s a subtle edge for the Braves, who played many a chilly New England afternoon.”

Segment 4 – Predictions and Philosophies

Costas:
“All right, we’ve reached the moment the viewers love—the predictions. Sandy, you’ve faced both eras in spirit: who survives this clash of styles?”

Koufax:
“I’m leaning toward Cleveland. Too much power, too much depth in the bullpen. But it won’t come easy. The Braves will make them work for every run.”

Harwell:
“I’ll take the Braves, and I’ll take them for sentimental reasons. They represent a time when baseball was intimate, almost fragile. In a place like this, maybe that intimacy wins one more day.”

Ortiz (grinning):
“I gotta go with the Indians, baby. They’re young, they got swagger, they can hit it to the moon. But I want to see how they handle a team that plays small ball and bunts like it’s church on Sunday.”

Costas:
“So, two leaning modern, one tipping toward the past. In other words, the Field of Dreams balance remains intact. The 1930 Braves and the 2004 Indians—one from the age of train whistles, the other from the era of digital scoreboards—will meet under the same moonlight, with ghosts in attendance and history as the umpire.”

Segment 5 – Closing Thoughts

Costas:
“As always, the Heavens Dugout gives us more than predictions—it gives us a bridge between eras. Tomorrow, Al Michaels and David Cone will open the broadcast from the booth, and Fay Vincent’s ceremonial ball will find its way to the mound. Out here, the only thing that matters is the next pitch, the next heartbeat, the next echo through the corn. Gentlemen, thank you.”

Harwell:
“It’s the sound of the game, Bob—the sound that never dies.”

Ortiz:
“And that’s why we play it here.”

Koufax:
“Because every pitch is a memory waiting to be written.”

Costas:
“From Dyersville, Iowa, this has been Heaven’s Dugout. Series #240 is next—the Braves and the Indians, where yesterday meets forever.”

Cue music. Fade to a wide shot of the diamond under the Iowa dusk, the crowd murmuring, the lights soft against the corn.

Official Announcers for the series:


FIELD OF DREAMS SERIES #240 – BROADCAST PREVIEW
Live from the Booth at Jacobs Field
Commentators: Al Michaels and David Cone

Michaels (opening):
“Good evening, friends. From the shores of Lake Erie to the rows of corn in Iowa, the Field of Dreams Tournament continues its strange and wonderful march through baseball’s timeline. Tonight, under the lights of Jacobs Field, we open Series #240—an unlikely collision between the 1930 Boston Braves and the 2004 Cleveland Indians. Two teams separated by 74 years and joined by that one eternal thread—the crack of the bat and the echo of possibility. David Cone alongside me, and David, this one feels like an historian’s dream.”

Cone:
“It really does, Al. You’re talking about a 1930 Braves club that might’ve been short on wins but long on legends. They had George Sisler, Rabbit Maranville, and Wally Berger—guys who could hit in any era. Sisler especially—smooth swing, line drives to all fields. They were craftsmen from the live-ball generation, playing with heavy lumber and light egos. Then you line them up across from a modern Cleveland team built on power, analytics, and swagger—Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Omar Vizquel leading the charge. The contrast is beautiful.”

Michaels:
“And you look at those pitching matchups, the opening duel sets the tone—Bob Smith for Boston, a soft-tossing right-hander with pinpoint control, versus Cliff Lee, the lefty who’d later win a Cy Young. David, these guys lived in different worlds—Smith in a league without radar guns, Lee in an era obsessed with them.”

Cone:
“That’s what makes this fun, Al. Out here, the game’s stripped down. You can’t rely on scouting reports from iPads or spin-rate data. It’s instincts, it’s feel. I’d expect the Braves to bunt early, try to pull the infield out of rhythm. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s going to test that old-time pitching with their patience. Guys like Hafner and Martinez will make Smith throw every pitch he’s got. This is a chess match between generations.”

Michaels:
“One of the joys of this tournament, David, is that it’s not about trophies—it’s about rediscovery. Every series resurrects a forgotten chapter. That 1930 Boston team, most folks remember their 100-loss record. But out here, none of that matters. The corn erases the standings.”

Cone:
“Exactly, Al. You bring them here, to the heartland, and suddenly it’s just baseball—no front office, no contracts, no headlines. Sisler gets to remind people he was one of the purest hitters who ever lived. Maranville gets to drive everyone crazy again with that glove and that chatter. And Cleveland? They get to honor their own bridge era—the group that kept the fire burning between the glory of the ’90s and the pennant years that came later. That’s the poetry of this project—you give them all a second life.”

Michaels:
“You can already feel it around the park tonight. The temperature’s in the mid-50s, a little wind off the lake, and about 38,000 here in attendance—some in flannel, some in fleece, everyone wrapped in that same expectation. First pitch tomorrow night at 7:05 Eastern, and we’ll be right here in the booth for all of it.”

Cone:
“I can’t wait, Al. Two eras, one field, one heartbeat. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Michaels (signing off):
“For David Cone, I’m Al Michaels. Stay with us—The Field of Dreams Series #240 begins tomorrow. The 1930 Braves and the 2004 Indians… where yesterday meets forever.”

(Cue soft piano music, camera pans from the broadcast booth out across the illuminated diamond at Jacobs Field, where the faint echo of a ball hitting a mitt drifts into the night.)