“Field of Dreams” is a 1989 baseball movie inspired by W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe.” Starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan and Burt Lancaster, it is about a famer (Costner) who builds a baseball field in his Iowa cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest sports movies of all time, the story artfully communicates so many messages, including the importance of following your dreams, the pull of generational ties that bind us and the magic of baseball.
Fast forward more than 30 years later and Major League Baseball brought us a memorable game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, complete with Kevin Costner emerging from a real cornfield in Iowa and giving a pre-game speech. By most accounts, it was a welcome respite from the heat of the summer months.
Ask any movie or baseball fan to recite a line or two from “Field of Dreams” and it is unlikely that you will be disappointed. So let’s relive ten famous scenes from the movie and edit them as if written by your financial planner.
New quotes from your financial planner
#10. "You know, we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that was the only day." Dr. Archibald Graham, reminiscing about playing just one inning in the majors.
New quote from your financial planner: “You know, many just don't plan for the most significant moments of their lives before they happen. We think, well, there'll be other days. They didn't realize that was the only day."
#9. "Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes ... now that would have been a tragedy." Dr. Archibald Graham explaining that it was not a tragedy that he only played one inning in the majors.
New quote from your financial planner: “If I'd only gotten to be a financial planner for five minutes ... now that would have been a tragedy.”
#8. "Chance to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases ... stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag. That's my wish, Ray Kinsella. That's my wish. And is there enough magic out there in the moonlight to make this dream come true?" Dr. Archibald Graham's response when Ray Kinsella asks him his greatest wish.
New quote from your financial planner: “Chance to squint at your retirement portfolio so green that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arms as you connect with the markets. To plan your investments ... stretch your assets across generations, survive the flops and wrap your arms around the risk. That's my wish. That's my wish. And with enough planning, we can make your dreams come true.”
#7. "Not if you get it near the plate we don't." Shoeless Joe Jackson's response when Kinsella is pitching to him and asks if they need a catcher.
New quote from your financial planner: “Not if you plan for your retirement, we don’t.”
#6. "Sure, kid. Watch out you don't get killed." The umpire's response when Archie Graham almost gets hit by a pitch and asks for a warning.
New quote from your financial planner: “Sure, day-traders. Watch out your portfolio doesn’t get killed.”
#5: “I did love this game. I'd have played for food money. It was the game... The sounds, the smells. Did you ever hold a ball or a glove to your face?” Shoeless Joe Jackson explaining what it was like to love baseball.
New quote from your financial planner: “I do love financial planning. I'd have played for basis points. It was the planning... The goals, the dreams. Did you ever hold a financial plan to your face?”
#4: “I'd wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet." Shoeless Joe Jackson explaining what it was like to be banned from baseball.
New quote from your financial planner: “You’d wake up at night with the ring of the New York Stock Exchange in your ears, the security of your financial plan as your blanket.”
#3. “They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past…they'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes.” The first part of Terence Mann's soliloquy explaining America's love for baseball.
New quote from your financial planner: “They'll come to the stock markets for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up at my office not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at my door as innocent as children, longing for someone to help them plan…. for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk into my office; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats, designed just for them, where they can sit with their children and parents, and plan their retirement.”
#2. "They'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again." The second part of Terence Mann's soliloquy explaining America's love for baseball.
New quote from your financial planner: "They'll watch their dreams and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come. The one constant through all the years, has been planning. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But planning has marked the time. Your dreams, your plan: it’s part of your future. It gives you hope of all that once was good and could be again.”
#1: "Dad ... you wanna have a catch?" Ray Kinsella's final question for his dad and the answer to his quest for redemption.
Let’s just leave the final quote intact.
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