20th Anniversary: How ‘The Sandlot’ Taught Us to be Men

As the hulking Babe stood in the bedroom of Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez” the night before the fleet of-foot hero decided to pickle the beast, he reminded him that “there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” As seminal childhood classic The Sandlot prepares to celebrate 20 years since it hits theaters on April 7 1993, there are undeniable reasons why the film transcends gender, age and affinity for America’s national pastime. Peppered throughout a rather simply crafted narrative – where hapless “goofus” Scotty Smalls found himself new in town and completely friendless – the aforementioned and popular Jet served as his clean-up-hitting-Yoda as he’s introduced to the rest of the squad. Somehow, that childhood whimsy and uninhibited attitude is still relevant to the modern man who is now somewhere between 25 and 40-years-old.

The Sandlot isn’t merely a metaphor for life, it’s an explicit rule book in the same way athletes know that the pitchers mound is 60 feet 6 inches from home, and that there’s no absolutely no pepper allowed near a Major League ball field. Hidden amongst the pilfered pool smooches, gut busted baseballs, tobacco-induced puking and “s’more of nothing,” are morals and principles everyone can follow.

Guts
Bespeckled pain in the ass Michael “Squints” Palledorous had guts in place of hawkeye vision. There’s something to be said for allowing one’s gusto to lead important life decisions. When you’re 12/13-years-old, you don’t think of five year plans; the moment is just that – a split second where your follow-through either leads to success or failure. People would be wise to chase the seemingly unreachable idea – a la Wendy Peffercorn – instead of always taking the safe route and settling for the shallow end.

“Michael Squints Palledorous walked a little taller that day. And we had to tip our hats to him. He was lucky she hadn’t beat the *crap* out of him. We wouldn’t have blamed her. What he’d done was sneaky, rotten, and low… and cool. Not another one among us would have ever in a million years even for a million dollars have the guts to put the move on the lifeguard. He did. He had kissed a woman. And he had kissed her long and good. We got banned from the pool forever that day. But every time we walked by after that, the lifeguard looked down from her tower, right over at Squints, and smiled.”
- Narrator

Competition
From the moment we’re all old enough to walk, we’re constantly challenging each other to feats of physicality. From there, bouts of intellectual brilliance fuel us to constantly innovate and be better than the person in the cubicle next to us, the staff in the office across the street or the opponent across the globe who had inspiration strike at the same moment that we did. Competition is what makes sports so universal, and is the distinct and more likeable cousin to “hatred.” Competing for that hard earned victory is far nobler than sitting on the side and hating those who got the outcome you so direly wanted.

“It’s easy when you play with rejects and a fat kid, Rodriguez.”
- Phillips

Bad Choices
Trial and error is an integral part of growth and self-improvement. Parents often see their role as that of a steel umbrella or iron trench coat, but there’s far more a child can learn from feeling the sting of his/her ill-advised choices than never feeling the kaboom at all. While you could chalk up riding an amusement park attraction with a plug of chewing tobacco in your cheek as boyish naivety, that hindsight is seen clearer through eyes that have done far worse in the past and have grown from that ignorance. Boys will be boys…and so will a lot of middle aged men.

“Big Chief…the best.”
- Bertram Grover Weeks

Friendship
There’s a kinship among adolescent males that’s indescribable. One moment you’re complete strangers, and in an instant as swift as a baseball traveling around the horn and smacking leather webbing, you’re best friends. High fives, ripped jeans and a lost baseball are the memories that will last, not that million dollar deal you pull off when no one is there to chop you back down to size.

“We all lived in the neighborhood for a couple of more years-mostly through junior high school-and every summer was great. But none of them 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.”
- Scott Smalls

I was 7-years-old when The Sandlot came out on VHS and I’ll love it for-ev-ver, for-ev-ver, for-ev-ver.

life: Growth

And I blew you a kiss,
sent it sailing, sent it soaring
on the winds, to keep you safe
make you warm.
And I knew that goodbye,
was a beginning, just beginning..
of a new life you see, of a new life for me,
and I labored and laughed at your
impudence, at my
pain.
Wondering where did it come from?
this "thing" built on bull
and I laughed at my lost....
innocence, my lost....
And that kiss that I flew and sent sailing to you
on the wings of a prayer,
you set me "free", to make me "strong"
you helped
me be...all alone.
I now have grown,
and I wonder at your absence
and ignorance.

life: Lay Rest-Intro

6 A.M. The most dreadful event possible is taking place: YOUR ALARM CLOCK IS BUZZING! “Why didn’t I get more sleep last night,” you question. As you begrudgingly flounder out of bed, forsaking the warmth and comfort being held prisoner by your pillow and covers, you can’t help but think, “today is gonna suck.”

For most of us, especially those in college, this is an all too familiar experience. Is it because God has cursed us with some defective body, unable to take advantage of this gift of rest? By no means! The Bible makes it clear, that everything God created was good. The problem, however, is when we decide we know what’s best for us. And as it pertains to rest, this pride, accompanied with a lack of faith, can lead to both our physical, and spiritual downfall.

Let’s hope you can stay awake to hear this…

life: The Okie Doke

The widening income gap is so incredibly intriguing because its all built on this big lie about the American dream. The idea that everyone is somehow supposed to "achieve" regardless of circumstance leaves folks chasing their tales. And the worst part? Society created these benchmarks that would signal who "made it" and who didn't. The only thing to intervene is reality. That's how people got duped into bad home loans, crippling student debt and credit card debt. The illusion was in the idea that it was easy to come up. It ain't. The reality? The bank loans money for a profit. Schools do not care about your home life. And very few folks care where you sleep at night. Education was always painted as the great equalizer, but that wasn't truly the answer. You always needed education that folks pay for. Example. There once was a time where a man that was simply educated in a trade could make as much as a college educated man. He couldn't understand a lick of scientific theory, but he could build a plumbing system. And the brother got paid to do so. Instead folks held to the idea that getting into college would fix everything, only to graduate with massive amounts of debt. We've been had. You CAN fail in this life, even if its no fault of your own. Those are what we call the breaks. But, if you still breathing, you got a shot. So go and get it the best way you can. No excuses. Just make moves.

life: Second Chance

The young man says, 'I'm not ready yet.'
Oh when death in all her splendour comes, what will you say?
Take me here and now.
In debt by a vow.
With wedlock it surrounds.
With love the heart pounds.
But only the darkness is sought to be found.
A purpose unknown and unclaimed.
A seeking of fame.
As if only to remember my name.
Destine to complain to the very last breath.
In a world of uncontrollable circumstance.
The chaos of all the utter nonsense.
Picking berries from a million bushes.
Which is the right one?
How do we choose.
Knowing in all eventualities we will all lose.
We say we must do right.
But by whom?
And that question forever looms.
Always stagnant on my mind.
Making a pack with all kinds.
A world full of fortune tellers.
A story book of lies.
A second chance to do the dance.
Reborn in the wicked storm.
The skies light up.
The thunder roars.
And the choice still has to be made.
Were all dressed up and no where to go.
Oh no, oh no.
I'm just going to continue on with the show.

life: The Void

I see your eyes, they burn with a passionless fury
the flames of our unrequited love ignite
but the feelings I hold for you go on unreciprocated
but I fight it off to love another never again oh how I fight 

the acid tears i shed turn cold
as if I'm dead inside
I run from the truth
but there's nowhere to hide

where else do I go if not here
to escape your eyes that burn with a loveless flame
but I keep staring in them year after year
as the pain of your rejection increases

there seems to be nowhere left in your heart for me
so my heart becomes so cold and empty

and I yearn for your love to fill the void
in which I can not fill myself 

life: Indifference, The End

Two familiar souls,
Walking in the desert of solitude,
Not recognizing each other,
Burning in our indifference.
Two wild horses,
Brutally tamed,
Hypocrisy our master,
And us, his slave.
The desert a frozen land became,
A cold, cold pole,
On a winters day.
Distance between us,
Coldness amongst us,
We could heat each other up,
Merge into one soul,
Let the ice melt,
And the cold burn.
But no, here we stand,
Frozen in time,
Two ice statues,
Staring in silence.
The snow shall continue to fall,
The wind shall continue to scar,
Occasional heat will make,
The ice in my eyes, melt,
And go down.
A wild, wild tear,
Will freeze in my heart,
And you will never notice,
Never have, never will.
And our winter days,
Shall forever remain,
Until the end of our days,
No life between the ice shall appear,
No grass, no flower,
No sweet music will ever be heard,
No stories to be told,
Just the wind,
The evil wind,
Will whisper in our ears,
Tell us what would’ve been,
And now impossible is,
And just like the wind,
It will pass,
Pass right through us,
And we may never notice,
Not until the ice melts,
The snow stops,
The distance is erased,
And you and I,
Stand face to face,
Heat emanating from us,
Embrace,
Kiss,
Love,
Live.