.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=&dpr=1.5)
Whether you care about sports or not, The Sandlot is a must-watch family movie. It’s a coming-of-age movie focused on a youth baseball team in the summer of 1962. It’s one of the movies that expertly captures the feeling of a group of kids enjoying their summer. Whether you grew up in the ‘60s or not, The Sandlot feels relatable and is really all about friendship and growing up.
The movie premiered in 1993. There was also a sequel in 2005 titled The Sandlot 2 and a prequel movie titled The Sandlot: Heading Home in 2007 – both of which were direct-to-video releases. As of 2019, there’s also a TV series with the original cast in development for Disney+. Speaking of the original cast, you may be wondering what happened to the young kids that led the movie back in 1993. What are they up to today?
9 Tom Guiry
Tom Guiry played the primary character in the movie, Scott Smalls. He starts off with little to no baseball skills, but over time — and with plenty of practice — he ends up gaining the respect of the other kids in the sandlot and starts playing ball with them regularly. The Sandlot was Guiry's film debut at just 12-years-old. Since The Sandlot, Guiry has made appearances in other movies like Lassie, Black Hawk Down and Mystic River. He was also a recurring character in the NBC crime drama The Black Donnellys — though it only ran for one season — and also made appearances on episodes of Law and Order: SVU and CSI: Miami. Since The Sandlot, Guiry hasn't held too many major roles, but still takes on projects from time to time. Currently, he resides in New Jersey with his wife and children
8 Mike Vitar
Mike Vitar played Benny Rodriguez, leader of the sandlot and the best player out of the group. Vitar also started acting at the age of 12, and while The Sandlot was arguably his most notable role, he also made appearances in the final two Mighty Ducks films in 1994 and 1996. In 1997, Vitar appeared in an episode of the medical drama Chicago Hope, but he retired from acting soon after, and hasn't appeared in any other works since. He now works as a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department and has been doing so since 2002.
7 Patrick Renna
Patrick Renna played Hamilton "Ham" Porter, the wisecracking kid known for the famous line, "You're killing me Smalls." While — like a lot of the cast — The Sandlot was Renna's first major movie role, Renna went on to have roles in other films and TV shows, appearing in episodes of series like The Closer, GLOW, CSI and Bones. Aside from acting, Renna also works as a movie producer. More recently, Renna is the cofounder of the Hambino Foundation, which works to increase access and resources for youth sports programs and also features a retail arm, Hambino Athletics, which sells baseball and Sandlot-inspired attire.
6 Chauncey Leopardi
Chauncey Leopardi played the nerdy looking, yet skilled baseball player Michael "Squints" Palledorous. Leopardi had been acting since he was 5-years-old, but took on his most notable role in The Sandlot at age 11. Aside from The Sandlot, Leopardi also starred in Freaks and Geeks, Gilmore Girls and he reprised his role as Squints in 2007 for The Sandlot: Heading Home. Off the big screen, he appeared in Logic's 2019 music video for the song "Homicide."
5 Brandon Quintin Adams
Brandon Quintin Adams played Kenny DeNunez, the sandlot's pitcher who grew up to play minor league baseball. Since The Sandlot, Adams starred in the first two Mighty Ducks movies and The People Under the Stairs and also made appearances in TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sister, Sister and Moesha. Outside of movies and TV, Adams has also done voice acting for Kingdom Hearts as the character Rai, but hasn't made any film or TV appearances since the early 2000s.
4 Denis Leary
Denis Leary played Smalls stepdad, Bill. Bill loves baseball and tried to help teach Scotty how to play — even though it ended in Scotty getting a black eye. Of all The Sandlot cast members, Leary's career is one of the most extensive. As both an actor and comedian, Leary has appeared in a slew of movies, stand-up specials, TV series and even voice work roles — most notably as Diego the saber-toothed tiger in the Ice Age franchise and Francis the ladybug in A Bug's Life. Most recently, he starred as Frank Donnelly on Law & Order: Organized Crime. He also founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation, which donates money to Worcester, Boston and New York City-area fire departments for training, equipment and other resources.
3 Marty York
Marty York played Alan McClennan, called "Yeah Yeah" because he always said "yeah yeah" before everything he said. The Sandlot was certainly York's most notorious appearance, but he also showed up in episodes of Boy Meets World, Hey Arnold! and The Eric Andre Show. His most recent appearance was in 2017, when he starred in an episode of the sitcom, SMILF.
2 Grant Gelt
Grant Gelt played Bertram Grover Weeks, the geeky looking kid known for always carrying a pouch of Big Chief chewing tobacco. Besides The Sandlot, Gelt appeared in episodes of Hey Arnold!, Boy Meets World and Tales From the Crypt. However, Gelt retired from acting in the '90s and has since stayed out of Hollywood. He has since moved on to other ventures like becoming the co-founder and chief strategy officer for the creative agency, Masscult. He's also the co-founder and co-chairman of The Play Forever Project, which works to make playing sports accessible to everyone.
1 James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is a big name in Hollywood, known for his unmistakable voice. He played Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot; the elderly man who lives behind the sandlot where the kids play and owns the ball-hoarding English Mastiff the kids dubbed "The Beast." Jones has had an extensive career spanning from film to TV and even stage performances. Most people likely recognize him for his voice, having brought characters like Darth Vader and The Lion King's Mufasa to life. While at 92-years-old, Jones doesn't appear in many movies or TV shows anymore, if any, he most recently reprised his voice work for Darth Vader in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+.