Just hop over there and get it…

The Sandlot made its debut in 1993, I was 13 years old, and like the boys in the movie, I was enamored by the game of baseball.  When I saw it for the first time, to say I loved it would be an understatement of epic proportions. Admittedly, I saw it six times while it was in theaters and couldn’t wait for it to come out on VHS (yep, no DVD’s or Netflix in those days). At the time I probably watched it so often because I felt so connected to the boys in the movie. 

The movie is set in California in the summer of 1962 and is about a group of twelve and thirteen year old boys whose love of baseball binds them together.  Scott Smalls moves to the neighborhood and has trouble befriending the local boys because he doesn’t know how to play baseball. The “leader” and star of the group, Benny Rodriquez, takes it upon himself to include Smalls even after the others ridicule and laugh at him.  Long story short, Smalls learns how to play the game well enough to fit in and the group spends the entire summer, playing baseball, staring at lifeguards (Wendy Peffercorn was legit), and worrying about “the beast.” It is a movie about baseball, friendship, and summer adventures that still stands the test of time.   

I lived in a house that backed up to a local park that contained two baseball fields, a basketball court, two jungle gyms, 2 swing sets, and a public swimming pool.  All around the park the houses were full of kids my age and we all became friends quickly. It was always easy to find some kind of game to participate in, whether it was home run derby, wiffle ball, basketball, or football. We had lots of fun growing up in that park and it provided me with too many stories to count.  It was where we experienced our summer adventures just like Benny, Scotty and the rest of the boys in the movie. There was even a dog in one of the backyards where many of our home run balls landed that we had to “pickle” in order to get our baseballs back. I swear that’s the truth.  

Fast forward 27 years, I just turned 40, and yes I still watch The Sandlot almost every time I see it on television.  I have become a husband, a father, a baseball coach, and I have experienced quite a bit of “life” in the years since falling in love with the movie.  As I watch the movie now, I still appreciate it for its simplicity, but also see the deeper meaning in the numerous life lessons that The Sandlot can teach us as people.  It inspired the name of this site and that name has served as one of the mantras by which I try to tackle the ups and downs of everyday life, “Pickle the Beast.” Let me explain.

In the movie the boys spend a great deal of time worrying about a “giant, gorilla dog thing that ate one kid already,” named “the beast.”  This “beast” is a dog that lives in Mr. Mertle’s backyard where home run balls go to die. As Squints puts it, “whatever goes over that fence, stays there.” During the movie Smalls hits a baseball into that backyard that is autographed by the Sultan of Swat himself, Babe Ruth.  After realizing the worth of the ball the kids try every possible way they know to retrieve the ball from the clutches of the beast. When they have exhausted all ideas and have given up all hope,Benny has a dream.  In his dream the Great Bambino appears and proceeds to give Benny advice on how to solve his problem.  He says, “I hear you’re in some kind of pickle.” Benny replies, confirming the baseball is over the fence, and The Babe offers the simple words, “Just hop over there and get it.” Benny is stunned and asks the Babe, “you’re saying I should hop over that fence and pickle the beast?” To which Ruth replies, “you’re the one with the rubber legs kid…”  The next day Benny straps on his PF Fliers hops over the fence, retrieves the ball, and is chased all over town by the beast. Benny is now a legend and his status follows him all the way to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  

As I watch that scene now, I realize the Babe was a genius.  Benny had a problem and could not see a solution. The Babe offered a different perspective.  A simple perspective. Benny had the tools and the capability to overcome his obstacle, he just had to be courageous enough to do it.  He had to be willing to look his obstacle in the eye, face his fear, and do what was necessary to solve his problem. His “beast” was the fact that the baseball was stuck in the backyard. He now had to “pickle the beast.”  In his book Chase the Lion Mark Batterson says, “It’s only when we stop fearing failure that we can fully seize opportunity by the mane. Quit playing it safe and start running towards the roar!”  That is what Benny is encouraged to do by the Babe, to face his fear head on, and use his talents to overcome his problem.  

So many times in life we are faced with an obstacle or a problem.  We do not see the way out or around the problem often because we are scared of the outcome. Scared of rejection.  Scared of disappointment. Scared of the unknown. Sometimes we do see a solution, but we still allow fear to stop us from trying it.  Outcomes are scary. We really want to apply for a new job, but don’t for fear of not getting the position. We see a beautiful woman and want to ask her out, but can’t because we might get rejected.  We want to go to the gym and get back on our workout routine, but we’re embarrassed by how people might judge us. These obstacles and problems can be big, life changing, chase your dream obstacles, or smaller everyday problems.  They are equally as real and equally as frightening in their own ways. Each one has an outcome, and if we worry about or fear that outcome, we may never see what could have happened if we simply would have tried. Facing our fears is not easy and takes practice.  Start with smaller problems or obstacles and work up to the big ones. Find a solution and go for it, regardless of what the outcome may be or of what people may think. We must challenge ourselves to “run towards the roar.” Everyone has beasts in their life. We simply need to face each one individually, head on, and find a way to overcome each one.  Most of the time it’s as easy as realizing what we need to do and then having the courage to do it. So be bold, be brave, pickle the beast, and the next time your ball goes over the fence, it’s simple…just hop over there and get it.