Summary

• The Sandlot is a beloved movie from the 90s that has unforgettable quotes and memorable characters.
• The film captures a different time and place, where kids played baseball in the local lot without cell phones or social media.
• The movie emphasizes friendship, fun, and the love of baseball, showing that it's not always about competition or winning.

Kids of the 1990s know that The Sandlot is endlessly quotable, and the best Sandlot quotes are recognizable even when someone hasn’t seen the movie in a while. The first movie was so successful and beloved that it spawned a sequel nearly a decade after the original, and even got a time-traveling third adventure for those who love their neighborhood baseball games. There’s even been talk of a series inspired by the original movie, though it hasn’t moved beyond the development stage.

The Sandlot follows a group of boys who all lived in the same neighborhood as they spent their summer days playing baseball in the local lot. When Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) moves to town, he doesn’t know anything about baseball, but the boys teach him the ropes. Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) welcomes him onto the team, and everything goes just fine until they lose an autographed baseball to the beast beyond the fence. The Sandlot is full of baseball anecdotes, funny one-liners, and quotes that stay with the audience.

25 “We All Felt Like Big Leaguers Under The Lights At Some Great Stadium.”

David Mickey Evans as an adult Scotty Smalls

Throughout The Sandlot, it’s very clear that this is a different time and place. There are no cell phones, no electronic monitoring of kids, and no social media tracking what people are up to. Because of that, the kids who play in the lot do so only while the sun is up, and then they have to be home for dinner. Most of the movie’s action takes place on hot summer afternoons - except for one special baseball game. Smalls explains in his narration of the movie:

There was only one night game a year. On the Fourth of July, the whole sky would brighten up with fireworks, giving us just enough light for a game. We played better then, too. Because, I guess, we all felt like Big Leaguers under the lights at some great stadium.

It’s a nice moment for the whole group because they always think of Benny as a star, but don’t necessarily think of themselves or one another as stars. Benny is always the one said to have the talent to become a professional player, but for the night, all the kids believe their own dreams can come true.

24 “That Wimpy Dear?”

Patrick Renna As Ham Porter

When Scotty Smalls first s his new friends for neighborhood baseball games, he knows nothing about the sport. When he hears the great Bambino referenced and asks, “who?” he covers for himself by explaining that he thought the boys were talking about Bambi. Ham is clearly not a fan of the animated Disney movie, giving this Sandlot quote in response. The line itself isn’t one of Ham’s funniest, but it is surprising that after asking this question, all the boys just accept that someone would have thought they were talking about the Disney movie instead of a baseball legend. Smalls’ secret is safe at that point in the movie, but it’s clear his lack of baseball knowledge is going to come back to bite him.

23 “Bertram? Bertram Got Really Into The ’60s, And No One Ever Saw Him Again.”

David Mickey Evans as an adult Scotty Smalls

One of the great aspects of The Sandlot is that the movie actually gives the audience an idea of what happened to this group of kids who spent a few years together playing baseball. It’s not unusual for kids to grow apart as they age, and as some of the kids move away, to lose . Smalls, however, has an explanation for most of his teammates. There’s only one that he outright doesn’t know what happened to. That’s Bertram Weeks, who “got really into the ‘60s.” On the one hand, this is an acknowledgment that not all friend groups will see every member get a happy ending. On the other hand, it’s also a joke that likely goes over the heads of kids watching the movie for the first time, but adults will understand. The 1960s marked the rise of counter-culture, hippy communes, and more overt experimentation with illicit substances. Bertram could have lost touch with his old friends for any of those reasons.

22 "They Never Kept Score. They Never Chose Sides."

David Mickey Evans as an adult Scotty Smalls

For most sports movies, the sport is all about competition. There are underdog stories like Rocky, comeback stories, and stories of making it big. That's not the case for The Sandlot. It's about a group of boys growing up and having a little fun along the way with the help of baseball. As Smalls points out in his narration in this quote from The Sandlot, the boys he meets don't compete with one another or try to win. They're in the sandlot every day during the summer to have fun, spend time together, and help Benny work on his skills.

21 "We Had Thought The Ball Benny Busted The Guts Out Of Meant Something Great Was Going To Happen. Now, I Just Thought It Meant My Life Was Over."

David Mickey Evans as an adult Scotty Smalls

Since the boys don't play baseball as an organized sport in The Sandlot, the movie doesn't delve much into just how superstitious athletes can be, like wearing the same socks for every game or carrying a game ball around with them at all times. Benny destroying a baseball with a hit is the first time superstition comes into the movie. In a voiceover, Smalls talks about how it's originally thought of as a good omen because of how rare it is to see someone split open a baseball with a hit. The busted ball, however, is what prompts Smalls to steal his stepfather's autographed ball, changing everything.

20 "Man, This Is Baseball, You Gotta Stop Thinking."

Mike Vitar as Benny Rodriguez

Benny's the best baseball player on the team, and he looks at baseball differently than the rest of the characters as well. Benny only wants to play baseball throughout the entire movie even when his friends want to go to the pool when it's too hot out. Benny clearly enjoys playing baseball, and he's a natural at the game, but he still treats his friends who aren't as good of players, especially Smalls, with respect and tries to help them out when he can like with this advice that does actually help Smalls. Sandlot quotes like this one help to show how much Benny loves the game and wants everyone else to as well. It's evident from the start that Benny is the most open to making new friends and that his heart is part of what brings the team together for their childhood adventure against the Beast.

19 "First You Take The Graham. You Stick The Chocolate On The Graham. Then, You Roast The Mallow. When The Mallows Flaming, You Stick It On The Chocolate And Cover It With The Other End. Then, You Scarf."

Patrick Renna As Ham Porter

One of the most iconic scenes in the movie is when Ham learns that Smalls doesn't know what s'mores are. He's shocked and upset with Smalls but is more than willing to help him learn how to make some s'mores and enlighten him with this Sandlot quote. Ham goes into a simple, yet hilariously detailed, description about how he puts together s'mores and how Smalls should put it together as well. This particular Sandlot quote is mostly memorable because of Ham's delivery of the instructions. He's so exasperated that Smalls doesn't know one of his favorite snacks that he just can't help himself.

18 "Face It, I’m Just An Egghead."

Tom Guiry as Scotty Smalls

Smalls is completely different from his new group of friends when he moves to town, but it doesn't matter to their leader Benny, and it's a nice change of pace for Smalls. Although Smalls still feels left out and thinks he's an egghead, Benny's ive and keeps telling him that everything will be fine and that he'll fit in eventually. Thankfully, Smalls stays with the group and forms a lifelong bond with his friends during their formative years.

17 "It Is The Law Of The Sandlot. Anything That Goes Over That Fence…Becomes Property Of The Beast!"

Matty York as Yeah Yeah McClennan and Chauncey Leopardi as Squints Palledorous

The kids refer to the Beast throughout the entire movie and the audience catches horrifying moments of the monster-like dog that are sure to scare kids watching. Yeah Yeah begins this Sandlot quote and Squints finishes the memorable line as they warn Smalls about the Beast that lives next to where they play baseball and tell him that anything that goes over that fence, like baseballs, will be eaten by the Beast. The kids, in true childhood fashion, are incredibly dramatic in their explanation, making the audience originally fear the Beast as much as Smalls does. It's only fitting that the Beast turns out to be a beloved pet.

16 "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."

Tom Guiry as Scotty Smalls

This is an incredibly sweet and memorable line from The Sandlot quotes about how close the group became throughout the summer they played baseball together during the movie. It's delivered through a grown-up Smalls' voice-over as he recounts his formative years to the audience. The movie shows each member of the team disappearing from the field as they moved away for whatever reason as Smalls explains that they never replaced anyone since that summer together with the Beast was so special. It's particularly poignant since the audience will recall that at the beginning of the movie, Smalls is actually replacing someone who moved away.