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.

What’s Aged the Best?

S'mores monologue; Wendy Peffercorn's name; Ham Porter; James Earl Jones; Kenny's Kansas City Monarchs hat; nicknames; retro fashion; on-the-nose music

In the discussion (14)

Approx. transcript time · 00:34:26Read transcript

The s'mores monologue lives on: the host's son recited it by age eight, and it has a new YouTube life.
Ham's s'mores setup resembles a caterer's station at a wedding, never explained.
Things the film taught an eight-year-old viewer: s'mores, tree houses, flashlight-under-the-chin stories, the word 'bitchin', and cannonballs.
The 'biggest pickle of my life' line recurs, teaching a generation that pickles are a big part of baseball, which they are not.
S'mores quibble: the chocolate must be allowed to melt; you can't rush the s'more.
Wendy Pfeffercorn (as transcribed) is the classic one-beautiful-person legend of a movie town, and her name is a great one.
Ham Porter could have been Oscar-nominated, carries scenes like Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam, and is the best performance in the film.
Ham walked so Jonah Hill could run; in an alternate universe Ham becomes an Apatow-era star.
James Earl Jones has a very high PER; seeing him is a pleasure, as with his Field of Dreams turn.
Kenny's Kansas City Monarchs hat is a subtle nice touch, though Kenny's role on the mound is unclear.
Mr. Myrtle's Negro Leagues background is noted; the hosts cite a 1993 New York Times article in which a Negro league historian said major leaguers barnstormed with Negro leaguers and Ruth played against them.
Ham Porter, the Great Hambino, gets better every year.
Nicknames in general and the retro fashion of tees, jeans and Chuck Taylors or PF Flyers hold up.
The music is on the nose but perfect for kids: This Magic Moment for the lifeguard scene, Green Onions against the rivals, Tequila, Wipe Out for chases; the score is by David Newman. — Mina Kimes

Mr. Mertle's blindness feint; the director's narration; no breakout star; Karen Allen's faded weight; the parenting; steak on a black eye; overly elaborate erector set; unconvincing Babe Ruth; color end photo; the Wendy Peffercorn kiss

In the discussion (16)

Approx. transcript time · 00:42:08Read transcript

Mr. Myrtle's 'you went blind' line plays as a feint where 'you're black' was expected, and the film is called whitewashed.
The Negro Leagues history could have been addressed in about 30 seconds.
The setting is said to be the San Fernando Valley though filmed in Utah; race and the era of segregated pools go unaddressed.
The narrator is bad because it is the writer-director; someone like Tim Robbins should have been hired, and half the lines are about the biggest pickle.
No cast member became a breakout star, unlike a movie with a future star as sixth lead.
Karen Allen as the mom mattered more in 1993, 11 years after Raiders of the Lost Ark; the stepdad actor is now better known.
The parenting: the stepdad ignoring Smalls's requests to play catch, and the mother making him feel like a loser for being smart and calling him an egghead.
Smalls might have founded a tech company without the pressure to play baseball; instead he became an announcer, perhaps with invention income on the side.
Smalls's father died; the stepdad barely engages and is angry when called dad.
Putting a frozen steak on a black eye would never happen now.
The erector set catapult seems too elaborate for 1962.
The Babe Ruth dream actor does not seem like Ruth, and his Field of Dreams role lingers.
The host's son's pick: the end photo of the kids would not be in color in 1962.
Roping the lifeguard into a kiss, grabbing her head and tricking her would not fly today, and the narration adds to the cringe.
The pool sequence follows the Fast Times tradition later homaged in Stranger Things, but its conclusion does not age well.
The ending's marriage-and-nine-kids wink and the boys saying she knew what she was doing feel emotionally beyond such young kids.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Art LaFleur

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:52:43Read transcript

Art LaFleur, who played Babe Ruth and a sarcastic player in Field of Dreams, gets the award.
Patrick Renna is floated but judged to have transcended that-guy status as Ham.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Squints; adult Smalls

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:54:10Read transcript

Squints hams it up, down to answering 'until forever' when asked how long the beast would be chained.
Adult Smalls is offered as an overacting pick and called a good call.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:55:43Read transcript

Squints is proposed, but may be in too much of the movie.
If the award goes to someone rarely on screen it should be James Earl Jones, if to a side kid probably Squints; no answer is reached as the rules are still being litigated.
James Earl Jones is called really good in that scene, but a recent Best of the Best viewing prompts the take that he may just have a cool way about him.
The take is rebutted: his charisma is infectious and pulls you into any scene; a clip of the Myrtle monologue plays.

Apex Mountain

Every kid in the movie; the director; swinging dog genitals

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:01:36Read transcript

Every kid in the movie is at Apex Mountain, and the director as well.
Not English Mastiffs but swinging dog genitals: the prominent testicle shots through the pickle sequence could have been reduced with CGI.
The dog effects are poorly done, with sound effects from a different movie; a devil's-advocate case that a kid's memory heightens the beast, with The Wolf Man in the chase, is offered.
For little-kid baseball movies the apex is still Bad News Bears and Breaking Training; A League of Their Own was big for another generation but is an adult movie.
Swinging dog genitals is confirmed as the pick, pending a Beethoven rewatch. — Mallory Rubin

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Disney Plus project with the original cast

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:15:50Read transcript

A Disney Plus project with the original cast is said to be in the works; the reaction is fearful, though most people will give it a chance unless reviews are terrible.

Who Won the Movie?

Ham Porter

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:24:50Read transcript

The instinctive answer is Benny the Jet, but the Great Hambino is overpowering; a toss-up, with Benny chosen at gunpoint as a closer-than-expected lean.
Ham or Hercules are the real standouts on a rewatch, stealing scene after scene; a spinoff of the two would have made a better Sandlot 2.
The sport itself wins: baseball for baseball's sake, kids who truly do not care about winning and never challenge another team, America's pastime. — Mina Kimes
Asked what James Earl Jones is good in, the reply invokes Darth Vader's 'I find your lack of faith disturbing'. — Bill Simmons
The show's producer, addressed as Craig and asked 'Benny or Ham', answers Ham.
Ham has every iconic line; the closing voice sides with Craig that Ham wins the movie and closes the segment.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Ham Porter or Hercules
Mina Kimes: Baseball
Speaker not identified: Ham Porter
Speaker not identified: Ham Porter