The Sandlot: Group Analysis

Nick Dorman

Small Group Discussion

Mark Fokken

December 10th, 2012

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The 1993 comedy The Sandlot is about a group of young boys who come together

through the common interest of baseball. When the movie begins, we are introduced to

Scotty Smalls who has recently moved into the neighborhood. Smalls is a timid character

and one who doesn’t seek involvement with his peers readily. Smalls’ mother convinces

him to try to make some friends. Smalls follows a group of boys to a baseball field one day

after school, which we later learn is called the Sandlot. After an initial encounter that is

quite embarrassing for Smalls, Benny Rodriguez sees past this and invites Smalls to be a

part of their team. We are introduced to the characters of the movie at this time, which

include: Bertrand, Yeah-Yeah, Kenny, Squints, Ham, Timmy and Tommy. The boys

continue to be skeptical of Smalls’ skills and aptitude when it comes to playing ball. It isn’t

until Benny hits a ball perfectly into Smalls’ outstretched glove, that the group finally

accepts him as one of their own. The group continues to grow closer to one another by

playing baseball, challenging a rival team, taking a quick dip in the community pool, and

attending the carnival. Smalls learns from the group that one of the most important things is

to avoid the huge dog, “the Beast,” in Mr. Myrtle's backyard located behind left field.

The story then moves into its second main section. This happens after Benny hits a

ball so hard that the leather casing flies off of the ball. With no baseball, the group is

disappointed that their day of playing has to end so soon. Smalls takes this opportunity to

“save the day” by offering to go and get a baseball from his house. Smalls returns with

what he claims is a regular baseball, but after hitting a home run, landing squarely in Mr.

Myrtle’s back yard, he confesses that it was his step father’s ball and that it had been

signed “by some lady… Baby Ruthy” (The Sandlot). Horrified, the boys realize that a ball

signed by Babe Ruth is now in the back yard of “the meanest man who ever lived” (The

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Sandlot). The remainder of the movie consists of the boys trying different tactics to get the

ball back. Nothing works, until Benny has a dream that tells him to simply jump over the

fence. After jumping the fence and getting chased by “the Beast,” Benny and Smalls return

the dog to Mr. Myrtle only to discover that he had played baseball with Babe Ruth himself.

The boys decide to trade Smalls’ chewed up ball for one of Mr. Myrtle’s in return for

visiting him once a week to talk about baseball. Smalls returns the new ball to his stepdad,

who isn’t too happy, but delighted to have a new ball to add to his collection. The movie

ends 20 years later, Smalls is now a sports commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers and

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez is now a player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The group functions both as a social and task group. The boys are a social group

because they simply come together each day to play baseball. As Smalls states, “they never

kept score, they never chose sides, they never really stopped playing the game” (The

Sandlot). Smalls realizes right from the start that this group is simply one that loves to play

baseball. From our text, we learned that a social group is a “group that is formed because of

a common interest” (Young). This type of group “fulfills our human needs to socialize”

(Young). The group develops more into a task group once the autographed baseball is hit

into Mr. Myrtle’s backyard. A task group is a “group that is formed to gather information,

problem solve, or to perform a specific task” (Young). In this case, we see that the problem

needing solving is getting the ball out of Mr. Myrtle’s backyard. The boys meet regularly

(everyday) in order to try to get the ball back, they each are invested in the group because

of their interest in that baseball, and the number of boys is small enough that they can

address one another by name. All of these are further aspects that define a task group

(Young).

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The group’s charge is simply to play baseball each day. While this isn’t explicitly a

rule, it is clearly a norm that the group has developed. This charge is different from others

that we have looked at in class because no real gain occurs from them playing baseball

(other than simply improvement of skill). It is merely a way for the boys to come together

and have fun. When the ball is lost in Mr. Myrtle’s backyard, we see that the charge of the

group shifts from playing baseball to retrieving the autographed ball.

The group epitomizes the characteristics of an effective group quite well. They have

both an effective physical and psychological environment. Physically they have the

Sandlot, the group never has to worry about where they will meet or if the Sandlot is open.

Mentally, they all get along with one another and joke around a lot, but Benny ensures that

the boys don’t over-harass one another and insists that everyone gets to play. By providing

this protection, Benny ensures that no one in the group is mentally hurt from ridicule or

harassment from others.

The group is made up of 9 boys, and while this number is a bit larger than

recommended by our text, the group still functions effectively. Each boy interacts with one

another on a highly personal level and everyone knows each other by name. The group size

allows the boys to develop personal discussions, which might be difficult if the group were

any larger. The size of the group also means that smaller groups don’t begin to form within

the group as a whole. The group seems to be one cohesive unit throughout the movie; it

doesn’t really appear that separate clicks develop. Meaning that no one is excluded or

ganged up on within the group, leading to a stronger feeling of unity.

As I mentioned before, the boys have a few norms set in place. These include things

such as, playing baseball every day, playing a night game on the Fourth of July, rotating

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positions so Benny has the chance to practice them all, and going to the pool when the

temperature gets to hot. These norms help the group to find a sense of self. These “rules,”

which only members of the group know, gives members information that is unique to the

group. As the text explains, having a set of norms can influence member perceptions of the

group as a whole, and can serve to help give the group further identity (Young). The group

also has fulfillment of key roles, which we will look at more in-depth later.

We can also see that the individual members in the group each are committed to the

group and the charge. This source of commitment most likely stems from the similarities of

their love for baseball. Each individual is a member of this social group for the specific

reason that they are passionate about playing baseball. This common drive brings the group

together and commits members to the group.

The group of nine boys, like any other group, goes through what is known as the

stages of group development. These stages were developed by Bruce W. Tuckman and

include forming, storming, norming, and performing. The forming stage is the stage that

occurs when the group comes together. In this case, the group has already formed when

Smalls comes into town. This means that he is alone when it comes to attempting to join

the group. We don’t really see the group as a whole form. We can only assume that perhaps

Benny got a group of friends together and that is when the group officially formed.

However, we do see a very clear indication of Smalls’ attempts of joining the group. One

of the tell tale signs of the forming stage is the reluctance to share personal feelings. We

see this when the group of boys talks about “the sultan of swat, the titan of terror, the

colossus of clout, the great bambino” (The Sandlot), and Smalls has no idea who this

individual is. Smalls is so desperate not to look like a fool on a topic that should obviously

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not be in question, so he lies and saying, “oh, I thought you said the great Bambi” (The

Sandlot). Smalls’ lack of courage to seek an answer and not reveal his confusion on this

topic clearly shows us that this is the forming stage. He is reluctant to let the group know of

his lack of knowledge for fear of being excluded from the group. If Smalls’ would have

spoken up, he probably would have never grabbed the baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and

the boys wouldn’t have gotten into such a “pickle.”

The next stage we see the group go through is the storming stage. In this stage, we

usually expect to see members of the group compete for power and status within the group

(Young). From very early in the movie, it is quite clear that Benny is the leader of the

group. Just as the group had already formed, so to has the group already gone through the

storming stage of development. While the boys aren’t competing with Benny for power,

they do want to have a say in who is accepted and rejected from their group. Smalls’

attempt at playing ball with the boys immediately makes his entrance into the group a

challenge. Smalls struggles to catch and doesn’t even know how to throw the ball. The

boys ridicule Smalls and make fun of him, collapsing into fits of laughter. Even after

Benny tries to help, Smalls still doesn’t believe that he can be a part of their team. This

would be classified as primary tension, which is the initial jitters and uneasiness that is

experienced by a group. Smalls is nervous to play and has these initial jitters because he

doesn’t want to look foolish. It isn’t until Benny insists on helping smalls and showing him

exactly what to do, that Smalls is able to get past this primary tension. While the other boys

are quick to criticize and make fun of Smalls, Benny defends him and sees the potential. He

realizes that they need another boy in their group to make it a full team and sees that Smalls

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can learn. After Benny shows him the ropes of the game, and he catches and throws the

ball, Smalls is accepted into the group and the group moves onto the norming stage.

We see the group move to the norming stage when Smalls successfully catches and

then throws the ball. The norming stage is usually signified by the development of norms

and an increased feeling of comfortableness (Young). At this point the group sees the

potential Smalls has and realizes he can become an asset to the team. Smalls, now a

member of the group, quickly learns more about the norms of the team. As mentioned

before, Smalls learns that the group plays baseball every day, they play a night game every

year on the Fourth of July, the boys rotate positions so Benny has the chance to practice

them all, and they go to the pool when the temperature gets to hot to play. One of the

biggest norms that Smalls comes to know is to stay away from Mr. Myrtle’s yard and his

dog “the Beast.” After a ball is hit over the fence, Smalls replies that he will get it and starts

to climb over the fence. The boys instantly run towards him and pry him off of the fence.

After explaining the situation, Smalls realizes that this is one of the most important rules of

the boys. For the most part, the norms that are established by the group are not broken. It

isn’t until Babe Ruth’s baseball is hit over the fence that a norm needs to be tested and

eventually broken when Benny confronts “the Beast.”

Lastly, the group moves onto the fourth and final stage of group development

called performing. A group channeling their energy into the task at hand often signifies this

stage (Young). Since the group is both a social and task group, it only makes sense then

that they would have two stages of performing. The first performing stage starts to occur

after the sleepover in the tree house. After this night, the boys realize that they are truly a

group now, because they have shared all they know with Smalls. He is now just another

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member of the group and really isn’t seen as the “new guy.” The boys then focus their

energy on playing baseball. Here we see the boys continue to play every day and even

challenge the rival little league team to a match. The boys put all of their focus into simply

playing the game. Once Smalls hits the ball over the fence, however, the group suddenly

changes from a social group to a task group. The boys’ focus moves from baseball to

finding a way to retrieve the autographed ball. At this point we truly know that Smalls is

part of the group. Even after the sleep over, he was still reluctant to share that he didn’t

know who Babe Ruth was. He still wasn’t sure that he was truly part of the group. Here

however, we see that the rest of the boys discover that he doesn’t know Babe Ruth, but are

still willing to help him. The group is one cohesive unit because they are willing to stand

by Smalls even though he doesn’t know about baseball’s greatest player of all time. If this

information would have arisen in the forming or norming stages, Smalls might not have

been accepted into the group. But at this point, he is already so much a part of the group

that even this information wont get him “kicked out.”

Once the ball is hit over the fence, the second stage of performing begins. The

group shifts their focus from playing baseball tor trying to retrieve the signed ball. Smalls

suggests that they simply ask Mr. Myrtle for the ball back, but Squints says it's not an

option because “Mr. Myrtle is the meanest old man that ever lived” (Sandlot). The group

comes up with more and more elaborate ideas. At every idea tried, a few members of the

group have a specific duty that remains consistent regardless of which method of retrieval

they are using. Smalls is usually behind the scenes operating the equipment and appears to

provide most of the ideas. Squints serves as the scout and warns the group when “the

Beast” is about to attack. The rest of the group is used as manpower and backup with Ham

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providing the brunt of the force.

Just as each boy had their specific tasks on the baseball field and in the retrieval of

the baseball, so too did each boy fulfill key roles as defined by our text. Each boy has a

purpose and plays a unique role within the group. Smalls performs mainly task roles;

questioner, listener and analyzer. For instance, Smalls makes sure to consider all possible

solutions to a problem before implementing them. Smalls wanted to ask Mr. Myrtle for

Babe Ruth’s ball back before considering the elaborate plans they later try, but Squints shot

his idea down.

Squints plays a few different roles within the film. The main roles Squints plays are

information giver and socializer. Squints thinks he knows everything and likes to share

information with everyone whenever possible. He is the one who knows the “facts” about

“the Beast” and who says that asking Mr. Myrtle for Babe Ruth’s ball is out of the

question.

Ham’s role in the film is egocentric. Although egocentric can be considered

negative, Ham's role brings laughter to the group. Ham is a glory-seeker and joker. Ham

claims he taught Smalls to play baseball even though Benny was the one to teach Smalls to

catch and throw.

Benny is the group's leader, tension reliever, information giver and gatekeeper. As

the group's leader, Benny has the most responsibility in making sure the group gets along.

Benny is the one who welcomes Smalls into the group and stops the boys from picking on

one another. Benny also provides Smalls’ with information on how to play baseball. The

boys look up to him because of his talent and he is the obvious leader. Benny basically

epitomizes the perfect leader. He takes command when he is needed and backs off when he

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isn’t. For instance, once the boys focus their attention onto getting the ball back, Benny

takes a back seat to leading the group. He steps aside and lets others with more applicable

skills shine, such as Smalls with his erector set. However, he steps in at the end when he

realizes that someone needs to go over the fence. Benny’s ability to lead and step aside

when needed makes him an extremely successful leader.

The group’s cohesiveness at this point in the movie is extremely strong and worth

noting. The text describes cohesion as “the feeling of we-ness in a group—a team

orientation” (Young). Each boy has a specific role in the group that contributes to the

stability and feeling of “we-ness” that the group has. Because everyone in the group brings

a unique skill, it doesn’t seem like anyone’s talents are wasted, nor is anyone forgot about.

Everyone in the group has equal weight and the cohesion grows. We also see the

cohesiveness progress through the film. At first, there clearly isn’t a feeling of belonging

when it comes to Smalls and the group of boys. They mostly ridicule and tease him for his

lack of skill when it comes to baseball. This is when it is beneficial to have a strong leader

like Benny who takes Smalls in and shows him the ropes. He tells the other boys to be nicer

to Smalls. The cohesion continues to grow even stronger after the sleep over. The boys tell

Smalls the story of “the Beast” and it seems that he is truly one of them now. Another area

where cohesion is increased is when the boys battle it out with their rival little league team.

The group becomes focused on winning and beating the snotty kids who think they are

better simply because they are on an official team. Even though the Sandlot group isn’t a

specific designated team, like the little league team is, they seem to be much more of close

nit group than the little league team is. And lastly, the boys continue to stand by Smalls in

attempting to get the ball back, even when time after time their attempts fail. At each step

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in the stages of development we can see the cohesiveness growing as Smalls becomes more

and more part of the group.

The Sandlot first and foremost, is a story about a group of boys that come together

with the common love for playing baseball, and after the pickle with “the Beast,” the group

becomes even closer. By the end of the film, the group overall can be identified as a highly

successful small group. While the group wasn’t perfect, it was overly more good than bad.

Areas of improvement would have been ensuring that all ideas were heard. Had the group

allowed Smalls to simply ask Mr. Myrtle for the ball back, then the movie would have been

a lot shorter. Another area of improvement might be that the group should be less assuming

that all member of the group know terminology. We saw this at the start of the film when

Small was confused that “the sultan of swat, the titan of terror, the colossus of clout, and

the great bambino” (The Sandlot), were all the same person. If the group was not so harsh

about this norm, then much of the conflict revolving around the signed baseball could have

been avoided. However, overall, The Sandlot depicted a strong instance of positive group

development.

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Works Cited

The Sandlot. Dir. David M. Evans. Perf. Tom Guiry, Karen Allen, James Earl Jones. 20th

Century Fox, 1993. DVD.

Young, Kathryn Sue. Group Discussion: a Practical Guide to Participation and Leadership. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2007. Print.