In a baseball fantasy film, one scene played out better than the actors’ wildest dreams.
As the world mourned the death of actor Ray Liotta on Thursday, his “Field of Dreams” co-star Kevin Costner shared video of a memorable scene that seemed to have come from a higher power.
The scene featured Costner’s farmer pitching to Liotta, as Shoeless Joe Jackson. Liotta lined a ball that just missed Costner, knocking him down, and knocking over a bag of baseballs.
“Devastated to hear the news of Ray Liotta’s passing,” Costner wrote. “While he leaves an incredible legacy, he’ll always be ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson’ in my heart. What happened that moment in the film was real. God gave us that stunt. Now God has Ray.”
Liotta, who died at 67, may be best known for “Goodfellas,” but Costner isn’t the only one to think of him as Shoeless Joe.
“Field of Dreams” earned boffo box office and three Oscar nominations. The authenticity may have been lacking — Liotta batted right-handed while Jackson was a lefty hitter — but the sentimentality played.
The movie continues to be seen and quoted, and Major League Baseball played a game at the Iowa cornfield last year, with the Chicago White Sox beating the New York Yankees on a walkoff homer by shortstop Tim Anderson.
———
