The Sandlot The Rewatchables
The Sandlot poster
The Sandlot

Most Rewatchable Scene

Smalls's home run with the Babe Ruth ball and its aftermath

In the discussion (20)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:55Read transcript
  • Seven nominees are offered, only three of which are said to really matter.
  • Smalls joins the sandlot as a disaster, then catches Benny's shot hit right into his glove and immediately learns to throw.
  • Benny's paper-route advice unlocks Smalls by tapping into something already inside him, doing what his stepdad could not.
  • The stepdad is called a terrible dad whom one participant believes hit Smalls in the face on purpose; early-1960s dads are described as rough.
  • The game against the rivals could have been built into a longer scene, but the swerve in which the sandlot kids crush the other team works.
  • Ham's trash talk behind the plate channels Bull Durham and gets inside the batter's head, including the shaved-dog insult.
  • Ham's style is compared to an early Pudge Rodriguez crossed with 'John Crook' (as transcribed).
  • At a Dodgers Sandlot Night, the actor who played Ham looked exactly the same; his line deliveries age terrifically while the other kid actors are not very good.
  • The performance made kids think constant trash talk was part of catching; now it would draw a suspension.
  • Smalls homers with the Babe Ruth ball, though not knowing who Ruth was in 1962 is called as unbelievable as not knowing Elvis; the scene is full of Ruth's nicknames.
  • The pool scene loses its shock value on each viewing; the triple vacuum explosion and Benny finally taking the ball from the beast round out the seven.
  • Also nominated: the tree-house legend of the beast and the s'mores 'You're killing me Smalls' moment; Squints's campy black-and-white retelling is worth stopping to watch.
  • The whole ball-retrieval sequence holds up, especially Smalls's erector set attempt, which answers his mother shaming him for being inventive.
  • Further nominees: Benny and Smalls with Mr. Myrtle, and the Babe Ruth dream held for What's Aged the Best.
  • The favorite is the scene where Smalls is integrated and Benny hits the ball directly to him, a display of skill and empathy that is emotional to watch. — Mina Kimes
  • The Peppercorn (as transcribed) pool scene has hilarious moments, especially Squints's look, and the carnival puking scene is also a favorite. — Mina Kimes
  • The carnival puking scene is left out because it blatantly borrows the Stand By Me puke scene from about seven years earlier.
  • Smalls hitting the Babe Ruth ball, the reaction, the quotes and the plotting to get it back make a really good five minutes.
  • Asked for a pick, the reply seconds the Babe Ruth ball home run as a good pick because the other main contenders spring from it: the retrieval attempts, Benny pickling the beast and the Mr. Myrtle conversation, which recalls Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. — Mallory Rubin
  • The 1927 Yankees ball is a nice exclamation point.