Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1993 fan favorite "The Sandlot," rating this classic movie on the 20-80 scouting scale. They introduce the film (4:29), with an overview of the story, cast, and some artistic touch-points for writer and director David Mickey Evans. After a description of the 20-80 scouting grades for those who are unfamiliar (9:42), they begin with Amount of Baseball (10:33), continuing a debate on what constitutes a baseball scene, and delighting in the return of a favorite little league team. No spoilers on the player comp! Baseball Accuracy (14:05) addresses the questionable scope of Smalls' knowledge re: Babe Ruth, s'mores, tobacco, and baseball in general, and his bad baseball playing relative to "Bad News Bears" and "Rookie of the Year." Eric gets nerdy about the stitching on the Babe Ruth baseball. They also examine Ham's homer, the sandlot's team roster size, Benny's rundowns, oppo tacos, and the democracy of player size and shape, with loving reference to John Kruk, Prince Fielder, Carl Edwards Jr., Jose Altuve, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Morgan, Bartolo Colon, Hack Wilson and Smokey Burgess. Some thoughts about Mr. Myrtle's (James Earl Jones) blindness and barnstorming play, and Maury Wills' stolen base record, with small shout-outs to Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock (RIP, who had not passed when the podcast was recorded). Storytelling (31:58) examines Adult Smalls' (LOL) narration and bookending scenes with continued contemplation of his perplexing relationship with baseball. Comparing the kids' summer vibe with "Bad News Bears" unearths the original title of the film. The team has questions about replacing the Babe Ruth ball, Bill's (Dennis Leary) baseball collection room, and the kids' level of education. Discussion of the high stakes, other genres referenced within the film, the original vision in casting, and whether Benny might be secretly rich. What ends up happening with Benny's hat? They debate the Score (52:51), including Ray Charles' version of "America the Beautiful" and similarities to "A Christmas Carol" and "Field of Dreams" scores. Acting (56:33) praises the cast. Patrick Renna and Chauncey Leopardi are National Treasures, and James Earl Jones is perfect at literally everything he ever does. An interesting acting challenge for Red Sox fan Dennis Leary! Delightfulness of Catcher (1:02:19) lauds incredible trash talking, an excellent model for a catcher despite Benny being the lovable group leader, the insult scene that almost wasn't, and "that wimpy deer" (reprise). Delightfulness of Announcer (1:05:58) brings up a debate on narration as announcing, with an anecdote about filming at Dodger's Stadium that includes Tommy LaSorda. Plus: where's Vin Scully?!?! Lack of Misogyny (1:11:09) takes a frank look at the lack of complex female characters that offset the misogyny of various insults traded in the film, and gets real about Squints and Wendy. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:16:32), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:26:45), Favorite Moment (1:28:41) Least Favorite Moment (1:31:37), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:34:33), Dreamiest Player (1:37:07), Favorite Performance (1:39:03), Next Time (1:42:21), and Review Thank You (1:42:54).

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1974 Roy Campanella biopic, "It's Good to Be Alive," rating this TV movie on the 20-80 scouting scale. They introduce the episode (1:19), with an overview of the story, cast, and expectations coming into the film. After a description of the 20-80 scouting grades for those who are unfamiliar (8:37), they begin with Amount of Baseball (10:12), discussing how to bring something up to code to be considered a baseball movie. Eric makes some claims about the scouting scale. No spoilers on the player comp! Baseball Accuracy (14:51) includes an Ellen Adair Breakdown on Campanella's hands and injury history, along with details of the car accident and initial expectations afterwards, Campy's thoughts about L.A., Ruthe's visits, Campy's salary and Walter O'Malley, and a compare and contrast of his real speech vs. the film speech. Storytelling (36:22) examines the usage of flashbacks, both good (a childhood scene about his biracial identity) and bad (a very puzzling scene with his son David). Discussion of the difficulties of Roy adjusting to his new life, Campy as a coach and manager, and the annoying reporter, with shout-out to Jason Vargas. Praise for the fly scene, and speculation about what Ruthe is drinking. They discuss the Score (1:03:17) and Acting (1:04:50), particularly Paul Winfield, Ruby Dee, and Louis Gossett, Jr. Ellen has a rundown of three specific excellent choices by Ruby Dee. Delightfulness of Catcher (1:10:45) is a fun tool to score for this film, with conversation about real Roy vs. his film depiction, some highlights of his real-life catching career, and mentioning early interest in him from the Phillies and Pirates. Ellen is not able to resist mentioning J.T. Realmuto, but just once. Delightfulness of Announcer (1:17:30) and Lack of Misogyny (1:18:11) follow, the latter considering that the film was written from Roy's point of view. Eric brings up some of the questions about the timeline on the night of Campanella's accident. Yes or No (1:25:16) briefly addresses Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige easter eggs in the film, along with the Classic Questions. No spoilers on the following segments: Six Degrees of Baseball (1:29:42), Favorite Moment (1:31:34) Least Favorite Moment (1:33:28), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:34:25), Dreamiest Player (1:38:14), Favorite Performance (1:39:23), Next Time (1:42:33), and Review Thank You (1:44:14).

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde delve into all the twists and turns surrounding this baseball-themed episode of "The Twilight Zone" entitled "The Mighty Casey!" Rating this 1960 TV episode on the 20-80 scouting scale may make for one of their most fun journeys yet. They introduce the episode (1:34), with an overview of the plot, actors, and a brief foray into Rod Serling's other writing about baseball. After a description of the 20-80 scouting grades for those who are unfamiliar (8:18), they begin with Amount of Baseball (9:22), including a discussion of whether or not Amount of Baseball is a ratio stat or a counting stat, Robert Sorrell's pitching double, and the concept of a montage expressing "he's doing well." Baseball Accuracy (13:04) touches on how much adding one pitcher could really help an awful team, Casey's pitching mix, how often a superman could plausibly pitch, connection to the Dodgers, the try-out flubs and a philosophical question about beaning. Storytelling (36:22) examines the fairytale nature of the story, the twists, Casey's mental fortitude with small shout-outs to Cliff Lee and Max Scherzer, Leo Durocher and the question of whether nice guys finish last, concerns about Dr. Stillman's motivations, Casey's age and implications for his Tommy John surgery. They discuss the Score (47:25) and Acting (48:35), particularly Robert Sorrells, Abraham Sofaer and Jack Warden, with our CRAZIEST TWIST YET! References to "Homeland," "Inception," and Ellen's final request. Plus, Robert Sorrells was a complex dude. Delightfulness of Catcher (56:59), Delightfulness of Announcer (59:23) and Lack of Misogyny (1:00:35) follow. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:04:58), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:09:30) Favorite Moment (1:10:25) Least Favorite Moment (1:11:18), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:13:37), Dreamiest Player (1:15:47), Favorite Performance (1:16:22), Review Thank You (1:18:35) and Next Time (1:19:10).