Actor Ray Liotta passed away on May 26 at the age of 67. Following his passing, his Field of Dreams co-star Kevin Costner spoke about how “devastated” he was:
“Devastated to hear the news of @rayliotta’s passing,” Costner said in a post alongside a clip from one of Liotta’s memorable scenes in Field of Dreams. “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.”
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On Thursday (August 11), the MLB came to the real-life Field of Dreams in Iowa. Ahead of the big game, Costner once again took a moment to pay tribute to Liotta:
“In honor of MLB at Field of Dreams this week, I wanted to share some memories from the movie but more importantly remember the amazing Ray Liotta,” Costner said. “‘Shoeless Joe Jackson’ will be out there with all of us for a great night of baseball in the fields of Iowa.”
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As promised, the MLB honored Liotta with a tribute before the Field of Dreams game. Costner served as the narrator of the tribute:
“I reminisced about how our batting practice moment together was not a stunt,” Costner said. “It was real, and it happened as you saw it. I said that God gave us that stunt that night, and now God has Ray. And though he may be gone, that’s the beauty of a game like baseball and a movie like ‘Field of Dreams.’“
Costner continued:
“He gets to live forever in our hearts whenever he steps out of that cornfield. He’s become eternal. Long live ‘Shoeless Joe,’ and long live Ray, who helped show us that when dreams come from the heart, they really can come true.”
You can watch the MLB’s tribute to Liotta at the Field of Dreams game below. He is so dearly missed.