Mr Birdman's Movie Reviews · Joshua Birdwell

The Sandlot

·34 min·2 clips

Smalls swipes a ball signed by Babe Ruth, and the kids realize what he brought to the sandlot.

1. Mr. Birdman Reviews covers The Sandlot, a 1993 comedy, as it reaches its 30th anniversary and opening day arrives in 2023. 2. Mr. Birdman is the host, and he frames the film as a baseball movie that matters to him personally. 3. The episode asks why The Sandlot still works as a story about baseball, childhood, and belonging. 4. The plot begins in the early 1960s when fifth grader Scotty Smalls moves to town and cannot throw a baseball. 5. The neighborhood gang recruits Smalls at the sandlot field, and the host says the shift turns the movie into a "magical summer of baseball." 6. The host argues that the nine boys all have chemistry and that none of them feels underdeveloped or overused. 7. He points to the local urban legend of "the beast" and the rule that any ball hit beyond the fence is gone forever. 8. He singles out Ham, played by Patrick Renna, and says "You're killing me Smalls" is the film's most famous line. 9. He says the quote still appears on shirts and gets repeated at work, and he jokes about a black-and-white Amazon design of Ham. 10. The Wendy Peppercorn material leads to a note that the kid actors did not know Marlee Shelton would be playing Wendy. 11. The pool scene is described as an actual cold shoot outside Salt Lake City during the summer of 1992. 12. Squints pretends to drown so he can kiss Wendy Peppercorn, and she calls him "a little pervert." 13. The host says the 4th of July night game feels patriotic because it combines baseball, fireworks, and food without being pushy. 14. He says the movie feels "the most American film" because kids from different backgrounds come together through baseball. 15. After the Fourth of July game, the Little Leaguers exchange insults like "watch it, jerk" and "fart smeller." 16. He says the carnival scene with Big Chief chewing tobacco and the Trabant roller coaster is his favorite because the vomit gag lands hardest. 17. The ball storyline turns on Smalls swiping his stepdad's baseball, which is signed by Babe Ruth in a trophy room. 18. Birdman quotes Babe Ruth as "The Sultan of Swat" and explains Ruth's rise from Red Sox pitcher to Yankees icon alongside the Black Sox scandal, Jackie Robinson, and Hank Aaron. 19. The tone is casual, nostalgic, and personal, with repeated movie quotes, baseball history digressions, and a lot of direct asides to the audience. 20. Baseball fans, 1990s family-movie viewers, and people who like ensemble kid stories would likely enjoy it, while viewers wanting a tight spoiler-free recap may skip it.

As heard by us

A breezy Sandlot recap that blends baseball nostalgia, gross-out laughs, and personal memory.

Mr. Birdman uses The Sandlot as a springboard to revisit a baseball movie that still carries summer energy, with opening day in the air and the film marking its 30th anniversary.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a warm Sandlot rewind with the carnival scene front and center.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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