Beyond the Fence: First Home Run and the Magic of 'The Sandlot'

I'll forever remember the time I hit my first home run. It was All-Star selection time during the Little League summer when I was eleven. It was time for my mom to go and get information on the All-Star selection process and what the rules were going to be.

So, while my mom was sitting through the meeting, the kids played on one of the fields outside. There was a kid named JJ, who was bigger for my age and considered to be the second coming of Babe Ruth on this side of town. JJ threw hard and hit harder, promising a standout career in high school. He was on the mound during the game, and there were no rules, coaches, umpires, or screaming parents - it was just us 9 kids. Everyone got their ups, and I patiently waited my turn.

Finally stepping up to the plate, I was ready to break my strikeout streak against JJ. No one could hit him in our league. And with such low stakes, I felt relaxed and was just having fun.

Pitching from the stretch, JJ delivered a fastball that sat belt high for me, and I barrelled it up, sending a moon shot to the right-center field. I rounded the bases, receiving praise from all my friends and teammates, who knew it was my first homer. Nothing else mattered except stepping on home plate and feeling on top of the world.

But baseball has more ups and downs than any sport. That year, I was heartbroken when I was not chosen to be an All-Star. The excitement of running to the concession stand to check to see if your name is on the list and not seeing it can crush a child's soul.

I cried that day in my mother's lap and couldn't stand why I wasn't chosen. But open the window and let the sadness out because I made the All-Star Team the following year.

Looking back on this moment, the memory of my first home run was stimulated by rewatching one of my favorite sports movies, The Sandlot, on the 4th of July.

Watching this film now as an adult brought back so much nostalgia due to its innocence and message of friendship. The character of Smalls moves into a new town two weeks after school ends at the beginning of the summer. He has no friends, but then he meets Benny, who takes Smalls under his wing and brings him into The Sandlot.

The Sandlot strikes a cord in many viewers who may reflect on the times of being a child whenever watching. Everything seemed so colorful and the world was so small as a child. Life existed around the neighborhood and the bike ride to the local ballpark or the best friend's house.

From sun up to sun down, the only goal for the day was to try and have the most fun before having to head in for dinner. Then, the next day, do it all over until the last summer days before school starts. And what The Sandlot does so well is capture these emotions in a bottle among the nine kids in the story.

Everything children did during the age of the characters in the film was pure, from putting all of their money together to get a few baseballs to trying to find other ways to have fun when there was a heat wave. The athletes they looked up to were like superheroes—present or past. Their ability seemed like a myth, and hours would be spent trying to emulate the way they played.

Even the scene where the group goes to the carnival after winning a game against The Tigers hit home. Because at the time of being a kid, every victory was celebrated no matter the size - something that gets lost as a young adult. And as this 4th of July has passed, generations have moved on from sitting with their parents watching the fireworks, amazed by the light in the night sky, to crushing a 30-rack of Bud Light and loading up on Bean Dip and burgers.

But nothing will ever compare to wandering into the night, constantly having to look up at everything, unaware of the moment being lived in then. This constant Euphoric feeling will sometimes come and go as one ages.

And as time feels like it passes everyone by, think of playing on The Sandlot and never keeping score, never choosing sides, and picking up where the day was before.