Midnight Library of Baseball

In the Midnight Library of Baseball, Ben Orlando offers a unique perspective to historic and modern aspects of the game. He does so with no loud music and no jarring sounds, so listeners can relax and enjoy a good show as they settle in for the night.

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Episodes

4 days ago

In this episode, we reveal the pivotal edits made just before the film’s release, including a bold title change that angered many involved. We also examine how audiences across the country responded to a small-scale debut that ended up catching fire.

Ep. 11: Heartbeat of a Dream

Thursday Nov 21, 2024

Thursday Nov 21, 2024

What composer James Horner attempted with Field of Dreams had never been done. In this episode, we look at the unorthodox, emotional score that Horner created on the fly. We also discuss a man who has played catch more than 900 days in a row, and the impact he’s had on countless lives.

Ep. 10: Better Than Magic

Thursday Nov 07, 2024

Thursday Nov 07, 2024

In this episode, I explore more of the strange happenings on set, and the amazing coordination of the final scene. I also discuss the incredible story of Dwier Brown, who was processing the recent death of his father as he worked to embody the role of the father in Field of Dreams.

Ep. 9: Magic Tricks Revealed

Friday Nov 01, 2024

Friday Nov 01, 2024

In this this episode, I discuss with cast and crew the magic that took place when everyone finally landed in Iowa, and we explore the many amazing tricks that allowed audiences to fall so deeply into a seemingly ordinary world. For example, in a time before CGI, what do you know when the corn that would not grow for months, suddenly grows taller than the leading man?

Thursday Oct 24, 2024

In this episode, I crack open long-forgotten archives and discuss the many well-known actors considered for Field of Dreams, and the equally fascinating stories of the actors who eventually got the parts.

Thursday Oct 17, 2024

For years, Phil Alden Robinson had been struggling to get his favorite book, Shoeless Joe, turned into a film. When he finally got his wish, it was more than he bargained for. Pressure and anxiety nearly brought Robinson and Field of Dreams to a screeching halt. In this episode, I discuss what saved Robinson and his film. I also reveal a real-life Doc Graham hidden among the crew, and I dig into the most “Field of Dreams” story there ever was, linked to two people integral to the movie.

Ep. 6: The Five-Year Itch

Thursday Oct 10, 2024

Thursday Oct 10, 2024

W.P. Kinsella never saw the father-son relationship as the central emotional story in his book, Shoeless Joe. This is just one of many revelations in Episode 6, where I follow the path of writer/director Phil Alden Robinson, who roamed the streets of Hollywood for years with the vision of what Shoeless Joe would become on the big screen. But it was this very struggle and years of failure that led to what many called a magical script.

Ep. 5: Catcher in the Corn

Thursday Oct 03, 2024

Thursday Oct 03, 2024

When J.D. Salinger learned that he was a character in W.P. Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe, he threatened a lawsuit, which led to Salinger being rewritten as Terence Mann for the film. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coincidences and controversies between J.D. Salinger, W.P. Kinsella, and their iconic novels. In this episode, I explore the question, would Field of Dreams exist without J.D. Salinger and The Catcher in the Rye?

Ep. 4: Eddie Scissons Syndrome

Thursday Sep 26, 2024

Thursday Sep 26, 2024

1 out of every 5 men claiming to have played professional baseball was lying, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1990s. But there was no name for this phenomenon, until author W.P. Kinsella created a fictional character named Eddie Scissons. Stranger still, two men in real life decided to study cases of Eddie Scissons syndrome, and what they found blew their minds.

Thursday Sep 19, 2024

There are many great moments from Field of Dreams taken directly from the novel, Shoeless Joe, but there are also key differences in both. Some of the additions and changes in Field of Dreams led to a better story, but some of the deleted characters and stories from the novel are wonderful gems worth discussing, including a very meaningful part cut from Terence Mann’s final speech.

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