'The Sandlot' turns 25: See what the kids look like today
Ready to feel old? The iconic youth baseball movie, “The Sandlot” turns 25 on Saturday. Yep, 25 years since you first heard the phrase, “You’re killin’ me, Smalls.” And since you first saw Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez battle The Beast. And since you witnessed Squints’ plot to kiss Wendy Peffercorn.
[Still not too late to join a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league]
The cast of “The Sandlot” is getting remembered in a number of ways as the 25th anniversary hits. There are new Funko Pop figures with their likenesses. There’s a new anniversary Blu-Ray set out. And it comes with baseball cards. Our friends at Yahoo Entertainment also talked to the cast and came away with five things you may not know about “The Sandlot.”
Still, the way we’re all going to celebrate “The Sandlot” most is through remembering our favorite quotes and scenes — something we asked actual MLB players to tell us about. And now, because you have to be wondering, we wanted to show you what the kids from “The Sandlot” look like all these years later.
BENNY “THE JET” RODRIGUEZ
Arguably, the greatest kid baseball player in cinematic history, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez and his PF Flyers are forever a part of baseball pop culture. Benny was played by Mike Vitar, who was also in “The Mighty Ducks.” Eventually, he stopped acting and became a firefighter in the L.A. area. Though he’d been out of the public eye, Vitar was pulled back into it in 2015 when he was arrested on assault charges.
SCOTTY SMALLS
Smalls was the eager but untalented new kid in town in “The Sandlot.” Benny and the gang turned him into a ballplayer, taught him about Babe Ruth (who, to Smalls’ surprise, wasn’t a woman) and set him on a path to be a baseball broadcaster. He was played by Tom Guiry, who still acts. Notably, he was in “The Revenant” in 2015 with Leonardo DiCaprio.
HAM PORTER
The trash-talker kids everywhere wished they could be after watching “The Sandlot,” Ham Porter was the team’s catcher and one of the movie’s most quotable characters. He was played by Patrick Renna, who still acts. In 2016, he was in the film, “Fear, Inc.” You may have also seen him in episodes of “CSI” and “Bones.” He’s on Twitter, although probably not talking trash like Ham did.
MICHAEL “SQUINTS” PALLEDOROUS
The neighborhood legend of Michael “Squints” Palledorous had nothing to do with baseball and everything to do with the drowning ruse he cooked up to kiss lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn. These days, Squints is a common social media avatar and Halloween costume. The guy who played him, Chauncey Leopardi, does some acting now and again. You may have seen him on “Gilmore Girls” or “Freaks and Geeks.” You can also find him on Twitter.
KENNY DENUNEZ
Kenny was maybe “The Sandlot’s” most underrated player. He was their pitcher. And actor Brandon Quintin Adams résumé as a young actor in that era might be a bit underrated too. He was in the first two “Mighty Ducks” movies and Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker.” He was in a number of TV shows too, including “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “A Different World” and “Boy Meets World.”
ALAN “YEAH YEAH” MCCLENNAN
On “The Sandlot,” he was nicknamed Yeah Yeah because he always said “Yeah, Yeah” at the start of sentences. These days, it might mean “Yeah, Yeah, actor Marty York works out.”
BERTRAM GROVER WEEKS
In was Bertram who was responsible for giving The Sandlot gang their first taste of chewing tobacco, which led to one of the movie’s most classic scenes. Grant Gelt, who played Bertram, acted a little more but eventually got into the music business.
TIMMY TIMMONS
He was the older of the Timmons brothers played by Victor DiMattia, who did a good amount of acting as a kid. This year, he returned to movies in “Get Married or Die.” You can also find him on Twitter.
TOMMY “REPEAT” TIMMONS
Tommy Timmons was Timmy’s little brother who, like many little brothers do, repeated everything his big brother said. He was played by Shane Obedzinski, who returned to acting in the 2017 short film, “Space Gila From the Deep.”
WENDY PEFFERCORN
She didn’t play baseball in the movie, but Wendy Peffercorn is no less part of Sandlot lure. Played by Marley Shelton, she’s the most successful of any of the kids from “The Sandlot.” She appeared in films such as “Pleasantville,” “Never Been Kissed,” “Sin City” and “Grindhouse.” Recently, she returned to TV with a role in NBC’s “Rise.”
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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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