For about as long as I can remember (well, 1993), The Sandlot has not only been one of my favorite baseball movies but one of my favorite movies in general. It's crazy but it's been 27 years since Smalls, Benny, Squints, Ham, and the rest of the ragtag group of neighborhood kids experienced a summer like none other. And while there have been multiple sequels and prequels and talk of a spinoff series in the three decades since the film's release, that core group of actors behind those roles have gone their separate ways and different career paths much like their characters did in the final moments of the 1993 fan favorite.
But what are they all up to now? What's Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, and the rest of the cast doing with their time now that they're not getting banned from the local pool, playing baseball under the glow of fireworks on the Fourth of July, or coming up with wild and crazy ways to retrieve a prized possession? Well, this is the perfect place and time to find out.
Tom Guiry (Scott Smalls)
Tom Guiry, who played the main character Scott Smalls as he transformed from a kid who knew more about pajama sets, Ovaltine, and tinker toys than he did about baseball or Babe Ruth, has had a moderately successful career since making his film debut in The Sandlot. In the nearly 30 years since the movie was first released, Guiry has had notable roles in movies like U-571, Black Hawk Down, Mystic River, and The Revenant, though more recently he has been spending more time with this three kids as he told People.com in 2019. And that's not even mentioning his 2013 arrest after headbutting a cop at Bush International Airport, according to TMZ.
Mike Vitar (Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez)
Mike Vitar, who gave a career-defining performance as the hero of The Sandlot Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez followed up the success on the baseball diamond with appearances in the two Mighty Ducks sequels, D2 in 1994 and D3 in 1996, but left the acting world behind to pursue his dream of being a firefighter in the mid-90s. The only time Vitar has appeared in the news over the course of the past decade has been for his role in the 2015 beating of a college student after the former child star and several other firefighters grew suspicious of the victim handing out candy to children on Halloween. According to the New York Daily News, Vitar pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and attend anger management classes.
Patrick Renna (Hamilton “Ham” Porter)
Of all the child actors to be featured in The Sandlot, none stood out like Patrick Renna who blew onto the scene with his scene-stealing performance as Hamilton "Ham" Porter. With lines like "You're killing me, Smalls," and "You play ball like a girl," there's no doubt that Porter is the character who's quoted the most. After the 1993 breakout role, Renna continued his successful run as a child actor with appearances in movies like Son in Law and The Big Green as well as one-off roles on some of the biggest shows of the 1990s like The X-Files, ER, and Boy Meets World. More recently, Renna has been leading the charge to get his Sandlot buddies back together for a major reunion.
Chauncey Leopardi (Michael “Squints” Pallendorous)
If it weren't for Patrick Renna's Porter in The Sandlot, Chauncey Leopardi's performance as Michael "Squints" Pallendorous would be the funniest thing about the movie. His version of "The Beast's" origin story with the "FOR-E-VER" line repeated over and over again, and the Wendy Peffercorn kiss are still just as iconic now as they were back in 1993. Leopardi followed up his success in The Sandlot with appearances on various television series throughout the 1990s and early 2000s like Freaks and Geeks and Gilmore Girls, but hasn't done much of note except for his 2019 appearance in the Logic and Eminem music video for "Homicide." Besides that he's just being jacked and staying up with things on Twitter.
Marty York (Alan “Yeah-Yeah” McClennan)
You probably wouldn't recognize Marty York if you saw him today, and that's not taking anything away from his career in show business, it's just that he's no longer the small and speedy Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennan we all grew up watching in The Sandlot. In the years since his appearance in the 1993 classic, York has been featured in episodes of Boy Meets World, Hey Arnold!, and more recently with shows like The Eric Andre Show. York is next set to appear in the short Super Bois and feature film Due Justice, but neither have a release date at this time.
Brandon Adams (Kenny DeNunez)
Brandon Adams first got his start in acting when he portrayed a young Michael Jackson in Moonwalker in 1988 before showing up in The Mighty Ducks in 1992 and The Sandlot the following year where he played lights out pitcher Kenny DeNunez. In the years following his days on the pitcher's mound, Adams has popped up on shows like Martin, Boy Meets World, Sister, Sister, and Moesha, where he had a four-episode run. More recently, Adams has turned to rapping and keeping up with his various social media accounts where he often posts about his time on The Sandlot.
Grant Gelt (Bertram Weeks)
Grant Gelt played the tall and lanky Bertram Weeks in The Sandlot, and like his character in the movie who got deep into music after his high school days, Gelt too ended up making a name for himself in the music management business. In a 2013 interview with Managers PRO, Gelt explained that he knew he wanted to take this direction in life for some time. Gelt currently works as the senior director of business development and account relations at Fullscreen Media in Nashville, Tennessee.
Victor DiMattia (Timmy Timmons)
Victor DiMattia, who played Timmy Timmons in The Sandlot was already a well-established child actor by the time he earned the role of the older Timmons brother in the 1993 film. With appearances on Married… With Children, the 1987 Dennis the Menace made-for-television movie, and Designing Women leading up to The Sandlot, DiMattia was well on his way to stardom. He had a few more roles in the 1990s but stepped away from acting until 2018 for the movie Get Married or Die. He's next slated to appear in the upcoming horror western Death Rider in the House of Vampires which was written and directed by none other than Glenn Danzig.
Shane Obedzinski (Tommy “Repeat” Timmons)
Shane Obedzinksi played the younger of the two Timmons brothers, Tommy, aka Repeat, in The Sandlot, but walked away from acting to be a kid shortly after filming wrapped up. In the years since the film's release, Obedzinski has traded the cleats of the diamond and the lights and cameras of Hollywood behind to start a pizzeria in the Tampa, Florida area as he told the Tampa Bay Times when celebrating the film's 20th anniversary back in 2013.
James Earl Jones (Mr. Mertle)
James Earl Jones appeared in the final moments of The Sandlot as the blind owner of The Beast, Mr. Mertle who helps the boys retrieve the lost Babe Ruth baseball before Smalls' step-dad comes home. Jones has continued to have a successful career in all forms of show business since the movie's 1993 release, most notably the continuation as the voice of Darth Vader in numerous Star Wars projects including the The Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, and Rise of the Skywalker. The award-winning actor is also set to reprise his role of Jaffe Joffer in the upcoming Coming 2 America.
Karen Allen (Mrs. Smalls)
Karen Allen will forever be known for her roles in movies like National Lampoon's Animal House and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but her portrayal of Mrs. Smalls in The Sandlot should be right up there with those two. Since the release of the 1993 baseball flick, Allen has continued to give great performance after performance in everything from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to The Perfect Storm. And since 2003, she has operated her own textile and clothing design company called Karen Allen Fiber Arts in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Denis Leary (Bill)
Dennis Leary was just making a name for himself in Hollywood when he joined the cast of The Sandlot as Scott Smalls' step-dad Bill. Only a few months later would Leary become big hit with appearances in Demolition Man, The Ref, and Natural Born Killers (the director's cut). The actor-comedian never really went away after that and became a bigger name with the Ice Age franchise and the FX series Rescue Me. Leary is currently on the Fox series The Moodys, where he plays the family patriarch Sean.
Marley Shelton (Wendy Peffercorn)
Besides the already established members of the cast of The Sandlot, Marley Shelton has had the most successful career since showing up as lifeguard and boyhood crush of Squints Wendy Peffercorn. Since her days on the lifeguard stand, Shelton has had a steady flow of roles in film and television with notable film projects like Sin City, Rampage, and Scream 4, as well as appearances on television shows like Mad Men, Dirty John, and Manhunt, which was released in 2020.
Well, that's what the cast of The Sandlot has been up to the past 27 years. And by the sounds of it, they'll be taking part in reunions FOR-E-VER.
