The Sandlot

‘Legends never die’, and this 1993 baseball classic still knocks it out of the park.

Jun 21, 2024

PRE-GAME ⚾️

Welcome back to Balls on Film! 👋🏻

I’d like to start off by welcoming everyone who has subscribed over the past week. Getting that new subscriber notification never gets old, and it’s been great chatting sports movies with everyone here.

I hope you’re all having some good weather where you are. It’s been pretty lousy here, even for Scotland, with constant rain and grey skies. Hopefully things pick up, because it feels like November here right now, and I’d like some semblance of a summer before it’s too late! I’ve also been pretty under the weather for the last few days, so between that and the horrible weather, I actually feel like I’m ready for Christmas movies in June!

I mentioned last week that I was working on a new feature for the newsletter, and I’d like to tell you a bit more about it. Over the coming weeks, I will launch The Clubhouse here at Balls on Film. It will be separate to the Friday edition, and will be where I’ll cover things like sports tv shows, as well as movies that don’t quite fall into the sport genre, but are sports-adjacent (think Sudden Death with Jean-Claude Van Damme). In addition, I’ll go into some totally off-topic stuff, and give you more unsolicited entertainment recommendations each week. The Clubhouse will be for paid subscribers, but the Friday edition of Balls on Film that you’re reading now will always be free and will remain unchanged. The aim of this newsletter is to ultimately review every sports movie ever made, and these reviews will always be sent out in the free Friday edition. There will never be any need to upgrade to a paid subscription to read any of the sports movie reviews, and this will always be the case. I’ll share more about The Clubhouse closer to launch, but I’m going to kick things off there with The Big Ted Lasso Rewatch, and will revisit an episode each week. If you’ve never seen Ted Lasso before, then you should immediately go watch it after you’ve finished reading this! Aside from Frasier, it’s probably my favourite TV show of all time.

With that, let’s play ball!

FIRST HALF ⚾️

The Sandlot is, in my opinion, a quintessential hangout movie. In fact, it’s as much a hangout movie as it is a sports movie. There’s a meme that I often see popping up on social media that says something along the lines of:

“At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it.”

Whenever I see this, The Sandlot is what immediately comes to mind. It captures that essence of friendship, the never-ending summer adventures and joys of childhood that kids can relate to and adults long to relive again.

The film tells the story of Scotty Smalls, a young boy who moves to a new neighbourhood in the summer of 1962. Initially struggling to make friends, Scotty is eventually welcomed by a group of local boys who spend their days playing baseball at a dusty, makeshift field known as the sandlot - ‘their own little baseball kingdom’, as Scotty describes it. The story is recounted by Scotty as an adult, who reflects on his childhood adventures and his fondness for that summer spent playing baseball. The group is led by Benny Rodriguez, but it’s characters like ‘Ham’ Porter and Squints Palledorous, who are most famously known in pop culture.

When they lose a ball by hitting it over the nearby fence, Smalls comes up with an idea to replace it with one from his stepfather’s collection. Little does he know, it's actually a priceless baseball signed by Babe Ruth. That ball too, ends up on the wrong side of the fence, where ‘The Beast’ lives - a colossal dog that is feared throughout the neighbourhood and is known for having eaten kids in the past. The gang must unite in a daring mission to retrieve the ball before Smalls’ stepdad notices it’s gone.

There’s so many ways in which The Sandlot makes me laugh. From the absurd situations that the boys get themselves into, to the silly back and forth insults and one-liners exchanged with the rival baseball team (“You mix your Wheaties with your mama's toe jam!”), it contains that perfect mix of juvenile and nostalgic humour that works perfectly with this kind of story and these characters.

Aside from being endlessly funny, it also has an ability to evoke nostalgia. There’s something beautiful about the way in which this film immediately takes us back to a simpler time, where the biggest worries you may have had were about losing a prized ball over a fence. It reminds me a lot of Stand By Me - you know, just without the dead body. It’s a story about friendship and teamwork, and the genuine bond between the boys. It will have you reminiscing over your own childhood adventures as you watch them go on the quest to retrieve the prized ball from The Beast.

Another thing that the film uses to enhance that sense of nostalgia is its use of exaggeration. It’s one of my favourite things about the story. The kids exaggerate the size and viciousness of The Beast, and the scene in which you first catch a glimpse of him as he appears from the top of the fence to chow down on a baseball will never not be hilarious. I love how the film doesn’t shy away from getting silly here and portraying the dog like a monster. The kids exaggerate their own baseball skills and achievements, and even how they react to the potential consequences of their actions. It all adds to that childhood sense of adventure, because we’ve all been there as kids too. It’s a big part of why the film works and why it appeals to adults as much as anyone else.

The Sandlot has firmly entrenched itself in the cultural lexicon. I didn’t initially see it when I was a kid, and only watched it for the first time in my early 30s. Even then, I still felt like I knew the film. I’d already heard ‘You’re killin’ me Smalls’ so many times by that point, and heard people be called an ‘L7’ that I felt a great sense of familiarity even watching it for the first time. It’s one of the most quotable movies of all time, and one for which you’ll find memes aplenty too. It speaks a lot to its lasting appeal.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the film’s incredible soundtrack, which stands out to me more and more with each viewing. It plays such a crucial role in enhancing the nostalgia and setting an immersive backdrop for the story. From opening with ‘There Goes My Baby’ by The Drifters, to the amazing Fourth of July scene set to ‘America the Beautiful’ by Ray Charles, the music here is such an essential part of The Sandlot’s enduring charm. The latter scene is probably my favourite part of the whole movie, and a big reason for that is the soundtrack. It perfectly captures that feeling of childhood wonder and adventure. If I ever have this film on in the background, I’ll always stop whatever I’m doing when that scene comes on and for a few moments, feel like a kid again.

As much as I adore the film, there’s a couple of things that feel a little off watching in 2024. The swimming pool scene, in which Squints pretends to be drowning to steal a kiss from Wendy Peffercorn is a little cringey, and Squints just comes off as a bit of a creepy little weirdo in general on rewatch. The way in which Smalls seems to be terrified of approaching his stepdad, Bill, about playing catch or explaining what happened with the ball also feels a little off. Bill is never really portrayed as a bad guy, so this always feels a bit jarring - but I guess there wouldn’t be much of a story without it! Art LaFleur’s portrayal of Babe Ruth has also been the subject of much discussion, but it’s short enough and part of a dream so I don’t hold any real dislike for it in the way that some people do.

There was some talk of a TV show revival at Disney a few years ago, which would have been set twenty years after the original movie and followed the same characters again. The plans have since been axed, and while I would have loved another chapter in the story, I’m also happy for my memory of The Sandlot to remain untarnished. It’s for this same reason that I’ve never watched any of the straight-to-DVD sequels, which I’ll get around to eventually for the newsletter!

The Sandlot masterfully captures the joy, innocence, and adventure of youth and the beauty of baseball. It’s every bit as enjoyable all these years later, and still puts a smile on my face quite like no other sports movie. It will forever be a film that I watch every summer - or just anytime I need some cheering up.

HALFTIME ⚾️

Let’s take a break for halftime. Grab a coffee and settle in for the second half.

I don’t have any TV recommendations for you this week, but I would like to highlight one of my favourite podcasts. The Cinemile is a podcast from married couple, Dave and Cathy, who record their walk home from the cinema where they unpack and discuss the movie they just went to see. It’s genuine, funny and completely free of pretentiousness. It’s like going on a walk with your friends and it’s a joy. I can’t recommend it enough.

Listen and subscribe to the Cinemile on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week, the sports world mourns the loss of the great Willie Mays, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history.

Joe Posnanski

wrote a wonderful piece, which is well worth your time. His infamous catch remains one of the greatest plays in baseball history, and I couldn’t help but remember this Peanuts comic, which always puts a smile on my face:

Now, let’s get back to The Sandlot.

SECOND HALF ⚾️

Let’s jump into some weekly awards and bonus content.

BEST SCENE 🏆

The aforementioned baseball game under Fourth of July fireworks takes this for me, easily.

BEST LINE 🏆

Ham Porter: “You’re Killin’ me Smalls!”

Side note - how great did those s’mores look?!

There’s another quote from the film that forever sticks with me. Older Scotty, narrating at the end of the film, says:

“We all lived in the neighbourhood for a couple of more years. Mostly through junior high school. And every summer was great. But none of then ever came close to that first one. When one guy would move away…we never replaced him on the team with anyone else. We just kept the game going like he was still there.”

Genuinely, I tear up and feel emotional at this part, every single time.

MVP AWARD 🏆

This award goes to ‘Ham’ Porter. His character’s quotes and his larger-than-life personality are a big part of why this film has such an enduring cultural impact.

IMDB TRIVIA HIGHLIGHT 🏆

Many of the young actors snuck into a nearby movie theatre to watch Basic Instinct during filming. Talk about capturing the spirit of the characters in the movie!

BEST LETTERBOXD REVIEW 🏆

Here’s seanoconnz bringing a whole new perspective on the film:

BONUS FEATURE 💿

25 years later, the cast reunited with NBC’s Gadi Schwartz for this fun look back at the film. You can tell this was probably Schwartz’ favourite day at work ever.

POST-GAME ⚾️

We’re going to pivot to something a little different next week and turn our attention to the world of pro wrestling. I was doing a bit of a clear out recently and came across my old DVD copy of No Holds Barred, starring Hulk Hogan. At the same time, I’d also just recently discovered

Ryan Mac

’s awesome wrestling reviews, so took both as a sign to make this the next film. I haven’t watched any wrestling since I was a teenager, and haven’t seen this movie since I was a kid. I may regret making it my next choice, but I promised to review all sports movies here - both good and bad. Alcohol just might be required for this one!

In the meantime, I’m still feeling a little under the weather, so I’m off to spend the rest of the day under a blanket with some comfort tv, and my dog for support.

This is Juno. My sports movie-watching buddy.