Before getting too far into this post, let me say how awesome the Cincinnati Reds' uniforms for the Field of Dreams were! Those batting helmets, especially, were incredible! The Cubs' uniforms were great, too! Much like with the uniforms for the Yankees and White Sox last season, MLB hit a home run with both (unlike with the "City Series" uniforms, which are one massive collective strikeout).
Unfortunately, we won't see any cool old-school uniforms at the Field of Dreams next season. Frank Thomas, who's on the board of the site, said that, because of construction, they won't be able to have a game there in 2023. However, you can bet that it'll be back in 2024...and a regular part of the baseball calendar after that.
Which actually works out well, since the London Series resumes next season with a Cubs-Cardinals matchup. That works out because I think the St. Louis Cardinals may be the next team we see featured in Iowa, and it's unlikely MLB would give them two special-event, neutral-site games in the same season. So, the Cardinals can go to London next year, then play in the Field of Dreams game in 2024 (which they were originally going to do as the White Sox's replacement opponent in 2020 before the game was cancelled entirely).
As for who the Cardinals should play, I have two suggestions. The first is the Milwaukee Brewers, who are close enough to Iowa to have plenty of their fans make the trip. I can even see the Brewers volunteering to be the home team, too. The Brewers aren't one of those flashy teams that will draw eyeballs on TV, though (although, that might not matter as much since the Cardinals are). They also didn't exist until 1970, so they wouldn't have old-time uniforms to base the ones for the game on. (There was a Milwaukee Brewers minor league team from 1902-52, however, so they could easily base uniforms on them.)
My other option is the San Francisco Giants. This is, of course, only if the 2024 London Series isn't Dodgers-Giants, which seems to be the logical next choice for that series. Not only would Giants-Cardinals be a great matchup between two marquee teams, they both actually existed during Baseball's early days, and you can't tell me you wouldn't love seeing New York Giants uniforms, even if it's just for one game!
There's another reason to pick the Giants. The first two "home" teams at the Field of Dreams were the White Sox and the Reds. The first one had to be the White Sox, for obvious reasons. Doing the Reds second also made sense, since they're the team who beat the Black Sox in the 1919 World Series. The Reds aren't actually featured in the movie, though. The New York Giants are.
What team did Moonlight Graham play his one Major League inning for? The New York Giants. (John McGraw pointed to him and said, "right field.") Then, at the end, in the climactic scene where everybody's crying as Ray plays catch with his father, whose uniform is John Kinsella wearing? The New York Giants.
Of course, the Giants would need to be the road team since it would be much easier to finish the three-game series in St. Louis than in San Francisco, but I doubt that would cause an issue. So, assuming they don't play the Dodgers in London, Giants-Cardinals would be my choice, with Cardinals-Brewers as the backup option.
In 2025, I can see the Cleveland Guardians as the home team at the Field of Dreams. (They won the World Series in 1920, so they've also got the tie-in, albeit indirectly.) And they, too, have a few options for their opponent. The first is the Detroit Tigers, which, granted, isn't a sexy matchup at all. They could also play the Twins, who would have to transform back into the Washington Senators for the day. Or, the matchup I'd really like to see and I think FOX would want, too, is Cleveland (the 1920 World Series champions) against the Boston Red Sox (the 1918 World Series champions).
However, that matchup, too, could be dependent on who MLB chooses to play its first games in Paris, which are scheduled for 2025. The Yankees have indicated they'd like to be involved. You'd have to imagine MLB will take them up on that. And, if they do, there's only one logical opponent. Which would probably rule the Red Sox out for the 2025 Field of Dreams game.
Although, it's still conceivable they could have Boston play the Paris Series in 2025 against the Yankees, then at the Field of Dreams in 2026, against either Cleveland or "Washington"/Minnesota. Or, if I'm right about the London/Paris assignments, they could flip-flop it and do Red Sox-Guardians in 2024 and Cardinals-Giants in 2025.
Regardless of what teams are selected, it looks like the Field of Dreams game, much like the Little League Classic, will become a regular part of the MLB calendar moving forward. And I'm sure we'll reach the point where teams are playing at the Field of Dreams for the second or third time (Cubs-Dodgers, anyone?). Likewise, we'll probably see somebody outside of the original 16 teams play in it eventually.
I'm also curious to see how next year's schedule format impacts these special events moving forward. Now that everybody's gonna play everybody every season, the possibilities are unlimited. There's no reason why they can't do an interleague matchup if they want. And, since it's just a single game, the fact that it's only three-game series against non-division opponents won't matter. (Having at least one Midwest team involved so they won't have to travel too far to finish the series would make sense, though.)
We obviously don't yet know what the ratings for Cubs-Reds will be like. Whether they compare to Yankees-White Sox hardly matters, though. It's a marquee event for MLB that's special for the teams involved. Will the luster eventually wear off? Probably. But, just like the NHL Winter Classic (an event now well into its second decade), it'll remain special. "People will most definitely come, Ray." They'll most definitely watch, too.
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