If we told young Scotty Smalls that Brett Gardner played him in a re-creation of a scene from The Sandlot, he probably wouldn't know who the guy is. And not just because he's a character from half a century ago. "Smalls" didn't even know who Babe Ruth was, and if the movie took place today, he surely wouldn't know any of the current roster of the New York Yankees.
Of course, in the movie, that little ignorant kid grows up to be a very knowlegeable sportscaster covering Major League Baseball. So by now he has to know who Gardner is, as well as his fellow Yankees Jacoby Ellsbury, Dellin Betances, C.C. Sabathia, Chase Headley, Didi Gregorius and Brian McCann.
And he'd get a big kick out of seeing those players redoing the memorable Babe Ruth scene from the 1993 movie.
It's hilarious how perfectly McCann actually resembles "Ham" (actor Patrick Renna, who is older than McCann, if you want to feel old). Ellsbury is "Squints" (let's see him do the swimming pool rescue now), Betances is Grover, Sabithia is Kenny, Headley is Timmy Timmons and Gregorious is his brother Tommy "Repeat" Timmons. Not only do they all do a fair job honoring the now-classic coming-of-age movie, but they obviously also get to pay reference to the most famous Yankee of all.
The re-creation is also tied to the opening of the 2015 season for Major League Baseball, which kicks off a week from Sunday. The first game for the Yankees is one day later, and hopefully for their sake Gardner plays better than "Smalls."
Watch the video above followed by a version that puts the re-creation side-by-side with the original down below. And be sure to check out this three-year-old post where we shared our favorite fan re-creations of scenes from The Sandlot.
