The Psychology of The Sandlot

Billy, a friend that Rich and I both knew, once explained to me a theory he had that everybody deep-down is one of the characters from the movie, The Sandlot. I hadn’t thought much about it, but I was intrigued by the idea. It was also interesting to me that despite the fact that there were very few female characters in the movie, Paula, Billy’s wife, readily concurred with his theory.

Assuming the theory has some merit, I’d like to hear which character you most identify with and why? And if you’ve never seen the movie, run, don’t walk and get yourself a copy, then weigh in.

BTW, don’t confuse this classic movie with the sucky, straight-to-video, sequel. Here are the primary characters in question and a short description of each.



Scotty Smalls – The outsider trying to fit in









Timmy Timmons – The know-it-all









Tommy Timmons – The tag-along









Kenny DeNunez – The second-fiddle









Hamilton “Ham” Porter – The wiseacre









Bertram Grover Weeks – The weird kid









Alan “Yeah-Yeah” McClennan – The “yes” man









Michael “Squints” Palledorous – The daredevil









Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez – The humble stud









Wendy Peppercorn – The object of desire







Mr. Mertle – The has-been










Bill – The never-was






Mom – The blissful ignorant









The Beast – The larger-than-life figure

Despite the fact that I exclaim, “You’re killin’ me, Smalls!” anytime someone in my family or elsewhere exasperates me, I’d have to say that I probably identify most with Scotty’s character myself. I’ve often found myself watching “the game” rather than playing in it, waiting to be invited in, and then feeling like a “fish out of water” once I’m there. But maybe, that is the plight of the writer. Observe others, and then live vicariously through your characters.

I haven’t seen Billy in quite a while. Somehow we just quit running into each other and that’s too bad, because I enjoyed being around him. (We also had animated, but respectful discussions over our respective top ten seasons of Saturday Night Live and how much one’s list was influenced by their age. Perhaps the subject of another post.) I guess you can tell that we’re both really, deep philosophical thinkers. So, Billy if you’re out there, stop by the Realm and give us your two cents once in a while.

The Sandlot
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