Boxed In: Better Baseball Movie – 'The Sandlot' vs. 'Major League'
If you don't think this is an all-time sports movie debate, you're killing me smalls. Released only four years apart, Major League (1989) & The Sandlot (1993) feel like they're of two different eras. Perhaps it's the foul-mouthed sensibility of the former, or maybe it's the retro era setting of the latter. Either way, these have become two of the most quotable baseball films of the last half-century and on today's Boxed In, Dan Wetzel, Mike Oz and John Nichols (aka LaJethro Jenkins) are settling the debate. Watch or listen to Boxed In every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Yahoo Sports or your favorite podcast app.
Video Transcript
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DAN WETZEL: All right, welcome to this episode of "Boxed In." My name is Dan Wetzel, national columnist for Yahoo Sports. And right now, I'm the judge, the jury, and the executioner, as we decide what is the better baseball movie-- 1989's "Major League," 1993's "Sandlot." Mike Oz will take the case of "Major League." John Nichols will take the case of "The Sandlot." We're going to start with opening arguments, gentlemen. Counsellor Nichols, please start with "The Sandlot."
JOHN NICHOLS: The problem with "Major League--" it's a baseball movie about baseball. I mean-- so it kind of pigeonholes it to a degree. "Sandlot" is a baseball movie about life.
- I'm going to tell you something, kid. Everybody gets one chance to do something great.
JOHN NICHOLS: I think just watching-- we're not just watching characters. We're seeing ourselves on screen, people we know on screen. And all the storylines are so relatable-- Squints' crush on Wendy, we've all been there. Smalls, coming from a broken family, struggling to make friends, you know, trying to build a relationship with his dad. You know-- Benny facing his fears and conquering them. In even life, you know, the myth of Mr. Myrtle the Great-- you know, and The Beast, you know what I'm saying?
I feel like we all like can relate to it so much as kids-- looking back as adults. So I think it's everybody's childhood. And that's why so many people have seen it, so many people relate to it, so many people love the movie.
DAN WETZEL: All right, very deep there-- very deep. Counsellor Oz, make your case for "Major League", the 1989 comedy.
MIKE OZ: I appreciate that he makes an argument that "Sandlot," is a better baseball movie, because it's not about baseball, which just doesn't make sense. But here's my argument-- "Major League" isn't even the best baseball movie. It's obviously better than "Sandlot." It's obviously the best baseball movie of all time. I think it's the best sports movie of all time.
It's everything you want in a movie, everything you want a sports movie. It's an underdog story. It's a love story. It's hilarious. You can quote it forever-- like, I could quote "Major League" all day long. The characters are amazing, whether you want somebody who you identify with as-- you know, sort of over the hill Jake Taylor trying to make one last go, or Willie Mays Hayes, Rick Vaughn trying to make it. Like, any side of that, "Major League" has that.
You have Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes, both in breakout roles. They went on to do really good stuff after "Major League." And I think this is important for sports movies. The baseball is actually pretty good. Like, you don't look at it and cringe. Like, they did a pretty good job. And I mean, when I look at a sports movie, I look at this-- am I going to stop and watch it every single time it's on? I will, with "Major League," and in 2020, it's just as good as it was in 1989.
JOHN NICHOLS: You wouldn't watch "Sandlot" every time it comes on? Let's be honest.
MIKE OZ: I like "The Sandlot."
JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah, yeah.
MIKE OZ: I like "The Sandlot," and I would watch it most times. But I think, after a while-- like, there's three or four moments in the Sandlot that I love. And if you see those moments, like, eh. I'll watch the entire "Major League." I don't-- it's not just, like, three or four things that I like, which is sort of how it is for "The Sandlot."
DAN WETZEL: Well, let's start with a couple of topics here. We'll go back to Mike Oz-- the best character, and this is a hard decision in both of these movies, because what really makes both movies is the characters. The best character in "Major League?"
MIKE OZ: I don't think anything proves how great "Major League" is-- for the fact that I can say, Wild Thing's a great character, Cerrano's a great character, Willie Mays Hayes is great, Jake Taylor is great, Lou Brown is great, Dorn is great-- all those guys are great. And they're not even the best. Best character-- Harry Doyle, played by Bob Uecker, he is the glue that holds everything together.
- Rookie sensation Ricky Vaughn on to pitch. You can close the book on Keller-- thank god.
MIKE OZ: He is the commentator, for anybody who doesn't know. He's calling the season from when they suck in the beginning. He's drunk halfway through the year to the very end when they win, and he just goes nuts. Harry Doyle-- and basically, if you watch that movie for the entirety, you can't really go five minutes without laughing at something Harry Doyle says. Kudos to Bob Uecker, one of the great sports announcers, actually, in real life. And he just made that movie what it is.
DAN WETZEL: All right. John, best character?
JOHN NICHOLS: I think Squints was-- Squints was a main character, right? You know, we all, to a degree, can relate to Squints, correct? You know what I mean? Him being kind of awkward, trying to make friends, having family issues, stuff like that-- we all can relate to him. But Benny was the guy we aspired to be. You know, there's-- I don't think there was a character more loved by Benny. You know what I'm saying-- more loved than Benny. You know what I'm saying?
Him going up against his fears, facing his fears. We can all relate to that. You know what I'm saying? And him-- like, living his dreams as a baseball player, too, as well. I think one thing with me, personally, that made me relate to Benny, was that I feel like I always-- I'm always looking for that looking for that kid inside of me, to, like, guide me. You know what I mean? And you can see that in Benny, like he always held on to-- like, Babe Ruth tells him to follow his heart. And you can see, he did that.
And we all want to be that person, even if we aren't. And I think we can relate to that, when it came to Benny. We could aspire to be that when it came to Benny.
DAN WETZEL: I related to Benny, too, because I was the coolest, best looking, greatest athlete--
[LAUGHTER]
--you know.
MIKE OZ: And you went on to be a firefighter in real life, right?
- Right, right, right.
DAN WETZEL: --Smalls. No, absolutely not. Yeah, I do find it funny that if this movie was done today, Benny would be on a travel baseball team, gone 52 weeks a year, and that sandlot would be a 7-11. So there is some nostalgia to it. All right, best villain? Best villain in the movie-- John, we will go with you.
JOHN NICHOLS: I mean The Beast was the villain, obviously. There were myths created around him that spanned over decades, according to Squints. He was an urban legend. But I think the real villain was ignorance. You know what I'm saying? Like, their ignorance to what was around them. And that's what kids are. Like, even with the scene when they went and got the tobacco-- they're trying to be like the big leaguers. You know what I'm saying? They end throwing up, you know what I'm saying?
Smalls not knowing who Babe Ruth was, and grabbing his dad's ball. You know what I'm saying? Them not going to just talk to Mr. Myrtle, and asking Mr. Myrtle to grab the bat, because they thought Mr. Myrtle was this crazy person, you know what I mean? I think the real villain was ignorance. The main villain was The Beast, but the real underlying villain was ignorance, which I think, as kids, we all related to. That speaks to the reliability of "Sandlot."
DAN WETZEL: The best villain in major league, Counsellor Oz.
MIKE OZ: I think what's great about "Major League" is it almost has, like, a Russian nesting doll of villains. Like, the main villain in the movie is Rachel Phelps, the owner, who's greedy, wants the team to lose, assembles a horrible Indians roster because they'll never win games. And then, she gets them to move to Miami, right?
- Obviously, it's time for some changes.
- This guy here is dead.
- Cross him off then.
MIKE OZ: Obviously, common, common trope-- rich evil person, we all can get behind that, cool, we understand what that is. But then, as movie goes, you see they have a couple other villains. They have Clu Haywood, who is, like, Rick Vaughn's nemesis. He's played by a former big league pitcher, Pete Vuckovich-- great mustache, great role in that movie.
And it comes down to the end, you know, where he's taken Vaughn deep twice. And then Rick Vaughn has to strike him out in that big moment, in the final game. And dude, it's amazing. And then you also have-- you know, the ultimate big bad in all of this is the villain is the Yankees. And John, I love your argument about ignorance being the bad guy and the villain, or the bad guy in the "Sandlot." We can all relate to that. But we can also all relate to the Yankees are the big villain.
Like, everybody knows the Yankees are the biggest villain in sports. And for them to be the villain in "Major League" is perfect.
DAN WETZEL: Vuckovich is incredible in that role, but very deep point by the ignorance. That was deep.
MIKE OZ: Yeah, I was impressed.
DAN WETZEL: That was a lot deeper than I thought the initial edition of "Boxed In" was getting, when we're discussing this--
MIKE OZ: I think that's what happens you watch "The Sandlot" as an adult, right? When you watch as an adult, you're like, oh, yeah, I see what--
DAN WETZEL: I thought we were going to spend way more time talking about Wendy Peppercorn, much less about deep things like that. So go ahead, John.
JOHN NICHOLS: To me, "Sandlot" is similar to "Wonder Year," in the fact that when you're younger, you relate to it because you're a kid. And you see Fred Savage's point of view, right? And then-- and you kind of have disdain for the dad. But then as you get older, you watch it. You kind of sympathize with the dad, because you can understand he's going through. You know I mean? And so you see it from two different lenses.
And I think that's the same thing with "Sandlot." You understand it from a different point of view when you watch it. So you can watch it multiple times. You get something different from it depending on where you're at in life.
MIKE OZ: I wish I had a deep argument like that about "Major League," I really don't. I can only say that it's funny when you're 8, it's funny when you're 40. It takes you into what it's like to be a professional baseball player. And in a way that-- you know, now that I cover baseball, like, it's not out of the ordinary. I mean, it's not crazy. It's not made up. Like, some of this stuff is really real-- when we're talking about superstitions, and you've got to do this thing on this day so that we're going to win.
And the beef between Dorn and Vaughn, where-- you know, think about that big moment. He comes out to him, when you think that they're going to brawl. And he walks up to him before, you know, this big showdown with Clu Haywood, and says--
- Strike this mother--
[BLEEP]
--out.
MIKE OZ: And you're just, like, yeah, give this to me. This is what sports is all about, in movie form. And it's amazing.
DAN WETZEL: OK, John, your choice. This is the hardest category. Best quote of "The Sandlot," then we'll get to "Major League."
JOHN NICHOLS: There's so many quotables in "Sandlot." I think the one that set with me was when Babe Ruth came to Benny at night in a dream, right before he pickled the beast, you know what I'm saying? And he said--
- Remember, kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, and you'll never go wrong.
JOHN NICHOLS: That is great life . Advice I don't know if-- remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Like, I think heroes and legends are kind of synonymous, so I don't know if that necessarily makes sense. But it sounds really good. They're very similar. But I think that's something you can take with you.
DAN WETZEL: All right.
- You know what I'm saying? As a kid, watching it, I took that with me.
DAN WETZEL: All right, you're killing me, Smalls, does not get mention--
MIKE OZ: You're killing me, Smalls, is the best quote in the movie.
JOHN NICHOLS: I say it. I say it. I still say it all the time. But I mean, you're killing me Smalls, I mean, it's funny.
MIKE OZ: You aiming for a mistrial right now?
DAN WETZEL: You're making a very good case-- but, I mean, this was the home run shot.
JOHN NICHOLS: I'm an adult.
DAN WETZEL: If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit. Counsellor Oz-- we're moving on. You're out, Counsellor.
JOHN NICHOLS: It doesn't sit with you. I mean, it's funny, it's repeatable, but-- go ahead, Oz.
DAN WETZEL: Best line in "Major League--" this might be the toughest decision anyone ever has to do on this show. And this is only the first one. Best line, give it to me.
MIKE OZ: So as a human being and as a child, my favorite line was anything related to Jobu and his rum. The best quote in the movie is, because I hear it all the time, is--
- Just a bit outside.
MIKE OZ: Like, all the time, Harry Doyle-- any time you see a wild pitch in baseball, going back to the 90s, when SportsCenter was a comedy show, you'd hear that. On Twitter now, every time there's a wild pitch in baseball, you see the GIF. It has permeated baseball culture in a way that no other line in that movie did. As much as I love Jobu and his rum, it is "just a bit outside."
DAN WETZEL: I will always love, "forget about the curve ball, Ricky. Give him the heater." That's life advice, too, right there.
JOHN NICHOLS: That's the thing that tripped off with "Sandlot." It's like, you said, it permeates baseball culture. These quotes permeate life. You know what I'm saying? This movie permeates life? And as a baseball movie, I understand. Great, a lot of baseball-- you know, it's big about baseball. But also, that's why everybody's seen "Sandlot." And most people I know have not seen "Major League." There's a reason for that.
DAN WETZEL: Well, boo those people. They should watch. They should watch both.
All right. Before I make my ruling, one sentence closing arguments. John, you can go first.
JOHN NICHOLS: "Sandlot" was in '93, "Major League" was in '89. "Major League" feels like age 89. Sandlot feels like it could be made it could be made four or five years ago. You know, Sandlot is truly timeless. It's the better movie.
DAN WETZEL: All right, that was a run-on sentence, but not bad. Oz?
MIKE OZ: Mine's going to have a lot of long dashes. Go watch the final scene of "Major League--" kills the entire time. I'm 40 years old, I've been watched a movie for 25 years, and the ending still gets me choked up. It is fantastic.
DAN WETZEL: All right, I am going to make my ruling. We have got Yahoo Sports users-- we have a vote. We polled them on Twitter, apparently-- which baseball movie is better, "Major League" or "The Sandlot?" Sandlot won 52.1% to 47.9%. I don't listen to that. I am ruling in favor of "Major League," because of just what Mike Oz said. The final part of that movie is the best sports-- that and "Hoosiers," I think, are the only two that feel so real.
It is a lengthy final game. You have Ricky Vaughn coming in to strike out Haywood in the top of the 9th. And then you have the dramatic bottom of the ninth, absolutely fantastic, true sports thing. It remains-- you go to Cleveland. You hang out at some of the great bars in Cleveland, like Johnny's little bar. And they will still talk about this like it actually happened, because nothing good in Cleveland ever happens in sports.
- And the Indians win it. The Indians win it. Oh, my god, the Indians--
DAN WETZEL: It is one of the best sports things. Now, "Sandlot" is about taking the ball from the dog. Now granted, Benny has trained his pickle skills to be able to do this, but not as good. The ruling-- "Major League," because of that final scene. Watch them both.
MIKE OZ: Can I also emphasize that the music in the final scene-- like, the way they did the music in that final scene, makes it so good. See, Wetzel's crying.
DAN WETZEL: I am.
MIKE OZ: He's getting choked up because of it. And here we go, I brought my crown-- the Jobu hat-- to celebrate the victory of "Major League."
JOHN NICHOLS: I question both your guys' taste.
MIKE OZ: Well, that's--
JOHN NICHOLS: Terrible, terrible. The mask is coming off.
DAN WETZEL: --anything I have to say. Doesn't matter, it's my courtroom. We'll be back next time on "Boxed In." Thanks for watching. We know you've got nothing else to watch these days, so watch the movies. Talk to you later.
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