"It began with the retrieval of the Great Ball." "Stolen by the Beast, the monster poured into its possession... his slobber and his will to dominate all who trespassed his land." "But there were some who resisted." "An alliance of neighborhood kids banded together and fought for possession of the Great Ball." "When all seemed lost, Benny TheJetRodriguez- aided by magic shoes guaranteed to make a kid run faster andjump higher- battled for the future of the sandlot." "Hercules, the Beast, enemy of all free kids... was finally defeated." "Time passed, and for 3,000 days... the Great Ball, its retrieval and the danger of what was once contained... behind the left field fence, was almost forgotten." "Rumors grew up about a shadow of the Beast." "Finally, when nine new kids came to the sandlot in the year 1972... something old and new was waiting." "I was the only one that knew anything about it." "My name is Johnnie Smalls, and that was the summer that... a kid named David Vincent Durango taught me the greatest lesson in life... and became the very first hero I ever knew." "But even though what happened that summer happened on the sandlot... it had nothing to do with baseball." "After one long year..." "Jonathan Buckminster Smalls..." "All-City third grade science project winner." "Ladies and gentlemen, the Saturn Apollo rocket." "Godspeed, AstroJake." "Flight deck- This is Mission Control." "We are go for launch." "We are go for launch." "The summer between sixth grade and seventh grade... is the best of times and the worst of times." "Can'toons, army men and making crank calls aren't important anymore... because you're focused on zits, B.O. And how your breath smells." "And that's when it comes." "The one great moment in your life containing all your potential futures." "You have two choices:" "Start down the path of greatness or hate yourself forever." "You're supposed to say, I'm sorry." "Earth to boy." "You're really fast." "Thanks." "You're supposed to say, You're welcome." "Bye." "The moment he first had a chance to talk to her... was not the one great moment ofhis life." " That moment for David would come 99 days later." " Hey, David, let's go play some baseball." " Yeah, David." "Come on." "Let's go to the sandlot." "David." "Her name's Hayley Goodfairer." "Solid." "Sammy says she moved here a month ago." "Her dad's some kind of government egghead." "He's worked in the South most ofher life, so she's from, like, down there somewhere." "She's 12 going on 13." "Got a late in the year birthday." "How the hell do you know that, Fingers?" "It's his purpose in life to know all the facts about the ladies." "I heard she's liberated." " Tarq, she's a girl." "Who cares?" " Like, I'm just sayir." "You're all wasting time." "We still have a huge problem, in case all you bozos forgot." "If we don't figure something out... our first whole summer on the sandlot is gonna be over before it starts." "Crap." "He's right." "Let's roll." "The sandlot was like David's baseball kingdom." " Nine, eight" " But that summer, a kid named Singleton... who was the captain of a Little League team, set his sights on taking it from them." "It was a bitter rivalry, and one day I got caught in the middle of it..." " and almost didn't live to see tomorrow." " A hundred days of baseball." "This is so much fun." "I don't know." "Hey, guys, who's that kid?" "Hey." "What's that thing?" "Oh, my God." "He's one of them." "He's gonna blow up the sandlot." "Get him!" " Come on!" " Five, four, three, two, one." "We have ignition." "Holy crap!" "Look out.!" "Look out.!" " There he goes." "Get him.!" " There he goes." "Get back here." "There's nowhere to run." "We'll get you." "You can run, but you can't hide." "Get him." "He's going over the fence." "Get back here, you littlejerk." "Come on." "He's somewhere around here." "Why don't you pick on someone your own size." " What are you doing here?" " I live here." "You live here?" "Next to the sandlot?" "Look, I don't know anything about a sandlot, whatever that is." "But this is private property, and you're trespassing." " What's she talking about?" " That punk blew up our dugout." "It's none of your business anyway." "Hand him over and we'll leave." "How about you leave, or I'll call the police?" "The whole place is gonna burn down." "Can we use your hose?" " Please?" " Please?" "Come on." "Aw, come on." " The dugout's on fire." " Okay." "Go ahead." " Go, go, go, go." " Hurry up, guys!" "Guys, get the gate!" "Get the gate!" "Follow me, guys." "Follow me." "Hurry, hurry, hurry.!" " Hurry up.!" " Faster, guys." "Faster." " Whoa!" " Here." "Let me do it." " Let me help." "Let me help." " Let go." "Get off him." "Get off him." "Guys, let him do it." " Thanks." " For what?" "They're just silly boys." "Maybe to you." "To me, they're like dogs with rabies." "Sixth graders." "Very dangerous." "Well, then, you better go while they're busy." " Okay." " Hurry up.!" " But be here tomorrow- early." " Why?" "I saved your life, now you have to do exactly what I say." "Okay." "The last thing a kid needs on his first day of summer vacation is an enemy." "And now I had five of them." "But I also had a new friend." "And it was because of me and Hayley that David would finally come... to the one great moment in his life." "Do I have to rake the whole field?" "Oh." "Hi, Daddy." " Hey, uh, sweetheart." " Roger." "You know referring to Hayley with frilly nicknames is sexist." "It negatively impacts her developing self-esteem." "Now, she is every bit the equal of a male child." "Right." "Sorry, uh- Sorry there, uh, buddy." "That is much better." " I gotta go." "And you, you be good." " Bye, Mom." " Bye." " See you later, sweetheart." "Uh, partner." "Uh, Dad, this is my friend, uh" " Johnnie." " Yeah." "Oh, hey-hey, Johnnie." "Nice to meet you, John." "Yeah." "It's nice to meet you there, uh, Johnnie." " Anyway, Johnnie's into rockets too." " Hayley" " No, no." "Dad, please." "There's the NASA logo." "Oh." "I've got my- Yeah, whoops, there." "Uh" " Well, Johnnie, uh, model rocketry..." " that's a great little hobby." " With all due respect, sir, rockets are my life." "Really?" " Well, mine too." " May I ask, sir, what you're currently working on?" "Well, you could." "But if I told you, I'd have to" " Daddy." " What?" "That's okay." "I know he's just kidding." "Not really." " Yes, sir." "I understand." " Yeah." " We'll see you around there, buddy." " Okay." "Count on it, sir." " Okay." "See you later, sweetheart, uh, tiger." " Yeah." " Right." " Bye, Dad." "Forget it." "You need security clearance to get in there." " In your own garage?" " My dad's workshop." "Grab that sprinkler." "You've got a lot of work to do." "They turned the dugout into a dollhouse." " Is that legal?" " Is what legal?" "Girls... on a baseball diamond." " What are you doing here?" " You said that yesterday." "Is that all you know how to say?" "Besides, none of your beeswax." " You're not allowed to be here." " We have as much right to play here as you do." " Play what?" " Baseball." " Are you taking loony pills?" " What's that supposed to mean?" "That's a softball- squishy- for girls." "This is a baseball." "What men play with." "Then what are you doing with one?" " Well?" " Well what?" " Leave already." " No." "Look, doll, this is a baseball diamond." "We come here to play a serious game of baseball." "You and your friends should go home and play with your Barbies before you get hurt." " Are you threatening me?" " No, sugar." "He just means if there's a bad hop, you could get hurt being, like, girls and all." "And you're a male chauvinist pig, being, like, a boy and all." "That's what my mom calls my dad." "I told you, she's liberated." "Yes, I am, and I can do anything you can do better." "This is a baseball, same as that." "For the love of Pete, are you deaf?" "Sorry, Fingers." "This is not a baseball." "It's a softball." "My three-year-old sister can hit this grapefruit." "With a souvenir Dodger bat." "And if you pitch it 60 miles an hour." "I bet you couldn't hit it." "Say what?" "I don't bet trash." "I burn it." " What did you say?" " I'll bet I can strike him out with three pitches." "If I do, we stay, you leave." "If I don't, you stay, we'll leave." " You're serious?" " Like Gloria Steinem." "You're on, doll face." "Tarq, get my bat and my helmet." "Mac, what are you doing?" " Getting rid of them." " You just can't take a bet like that by yourself, Mac." " We all get a say." " And?" " And my mom reads Ms. Magazine." " What the hell is he talking about?" "Gloria Steinem writes that magazine." "It's serious womers liberation stuff." "What the hell is he talking about?" "I'm just saying, what if the impossible happened?" "Like, somehow, she, like, threw three pitches, and you didn't, like, hit one." "Are you cracked?" "She's a girl." "This is baseball." "I'm a man." "Listen, she'll toss me a ball" "I'll tag it four blocks, they'll go home and all this junk will be over." "Okay?" "Okay?" "Okay?" "Well?" "Now you're talking." "Bring it on, skirt." "Don't blink." " What the" " Come on." "Pitch it already." "I call time." "What the hell was that?" "Come on." "That's totally illegal." "You can't do that!" "You didn't even swing." "Um, I kind of blinked." "Just tell me what happened." " She smoked you, meathead." " You didn't even swing." "I heard you the first time, Tarqell." "Swing?" "He didn't even see it." " Oh, like you never took a strike before." " Not like that." " I've never seen anything like that before." " Oh, my God, Hayley." "They are so embarrassed." " They should be." "How was I supposed to know that they were a professional softball team?" "You go back up there, she'll mow you down like a summer daisy." "What are you now, a poet?" "Sam's pretty sure it's a violation of the rules to pitch underhand." " Hey!" " That one is cute." "You can't do that underhand pitch thing." "It's against the rules of baseball." "I'm just tellir ya." "No, it's not." "There's no rule against it." "So it's legal and fair." "Oh." "Okay." "Thanks." "We are officially screwed." "No, we're not." "Excuse me, what are you doing?" "Pinch-hitting." "It's legal..." " and fair." " Yeah, totally legal and fair." "Don't worry, guys." "I got it." "Go ahead." " David's got it." "It's over." " Solid." " Whoa." "Watch it." " Foul ball." "Foul ball." "Foul ball." "Come on." "Foul ball." "Foul ball." " Well?" " Well what?" "I'm asking if you want to call the game on account of it's gonna get dark soon." " If you're too tired." " I didn't say I was tired." " Uh, Hayley?" " What?" "Maybe we should call it." " Until tomorrow, I mean." " Yeah." "David, man, it's gonna get dark soon." "It's a safety issue, you know." "Hayley, come home." "Dinnertime." "Forfeit!" "That's a forfeit!" " David, time to take your bath." " It's a draw then." "Hey, David." "Your mom still makes you take a bath at 6:00?" " Shut up, Saul." " Fine." "Tomorrow then." "Little baby." "Count on it, spoiled brat." " David, what are you doing?" " Are you okay?" " What was that all about?" " Why are you just sitting here?" "Come on." "We're wasting time." "Let's go to the sandlot." " David, we gotta go get Sammy." " Geez, what's the hurry?" " Why are his panties in a twist?" " How am I supposed to know?" " Payback time, little turd." " It was an accident." "You wrecked our field." "Now your ass is grass." "What?" "I cleaned it up." "I made it better." "It's true." "The sandlot never looked this good." " He even dragged the baseline." " Okay, already, Saul." "If Singleton told you to wreck the field, why'd you clean it up?" "Who's Singleton?" "Little League team captain." "The guy who told you to mess up the sandlot... so we'd leave and him and his team could take it for practice." "Sir, I don't know no Singleton and I don't know nothing about no Little League... and I don't play baseball." " Rockets are my life, sir." " You ain't one of them?" "I don't even know no them, sir." " What's your name?" " Jonathan Buckminster Smalls." "Hell of a name." "So, you're friends with them." " Kind of." " So you know we've got a situation." " I guess." " I guess?" "Look, Bucky" " Johnnie." " Whatever." "This is our sandlot, and we've owned it for, like... a long time." "Actually, most of us have only lived here for a couple of years... except David." "Shut up, Tarqell." "Like I said, a long time." "Longer than those girls anyway." "And so-And so-And so" "And so what?" " I don't know." "I'm out of words and stuff." " This is stupid." "Johnnie, go over there and tell them to leave." "I don't think they" " They said you have to leave." " No." "They aren't going to leave." "Just tell 'em to leave." " They really, really need you to leave." " No." " They said no." " Tell them to leave." "No." " They aren't leaving." " Again." "No!" " He's done for, Captain." " What did they say?" "If they were boys, we could beat 'em up." "Well, they ain't and we can't." "I have an idea." "Share." "Share the sandlot." "Play together." " We could do that." " Are you all cracked?" "David, man." "You know, like, they're really good." "Yeah." "Really, really good, and we're like four men short for a team." " They're girls." " Yeah, but, so what?" "So what?" "You got us into this crap-mess, Mac." "A good soldier knows when to surrender." "I surrender." "They're good." "We need them." "Let me put it this way." "We want to beat those Little Leaguejerks, right?" "Well, them are the answer." "Mac, go make a deal." " Do they hate each other or what?" " No." "They are, like, totally in love." "But why are they always mad at each other?" "It's the same thing." "Doy!" "Oh." "Well, here's the deal." "We give." " Really?" " Yeah, but you got to be on our team." " Really?" " Yeah." "We need three more guys, er, players." " We got a big game coming up soon." " Deal." "That is so disgusting." "Oh, sorry." " Sammy said the cookies are great." " Thank you." " Can he have the recipe?" " Sure, I'll write it down for you." " The dugout's very tastefully done." " Thanks." " Saul." " What?" " Shut up." " Orange is my favorite color." " Mine too." " Ow!" "What?" " Is this freshly squeezed?" " Yes." "Thank you for noticing." " Mac." " What?" "Shut it." "Anyway, this is Jenny and this is Penny, and I'm" "Hayley Goodfairer." "We know." "This is Tarqell, Mac..." "Saul and his brother Sam." "We call him Fingers." "He's deaf." " Just look at him when you talk to him." "He can read lips." " Okay." "Hi." "Let's reconnoiter these turkeys." "Yeah." "Come on." "Get a hit." "Look, guys." "It's the sandlot retards." "Singleton." "That's enough, son." "Get back here." "We've got a practice going on." " Yeah, in a second, Coach." " But you said that last time... and then we stood around while you cussed out the ice cream man." "Back to practice." "Last time I coach my nephew." "You guys bring your sisters to watch some real ballplayers?" "Shut your mouth, Singleton." "Actually, they're here to watch me wipe home plate with that mop you call your hair." "Sweeping up's all you're good for, doughboy." " Good thing you're switching to softball." " That's it!" "You're dead meat." " Dead, I tell you!" "Dead!" " Settle down, Mac." " Now, calm yourself." " I'm okay." "I'm okay." " Yeah, right, roly-poly." " Okay." "Speaking of sweeping up, you girls keeping our practice diamond all clean and tidy?" " Watch your mouth, jerk." " Shut up, porky." " Lurch!" " Your mama wears combat boots." "Your mama's so ugly, when you were born they slapped her." " Gomer Pyle." " Hippie." " Shut up, porky." " You already said that, idiot." "Yeah, well, you're still fat, moron." "You're a fart-sniffing, road-apple-chewing... scab-licking female dog." "I ain't done yet." "You're ugly, your mama dresses you funny... you stink like toe fungus and you ride the short school bus." "Yeah, well, you play ball like a girl." "Good one." "Excuse me." "What did you say?" " You heard me." " Friday." "The sandlot." "Be there, male chauvinist pig." "Count on it, tomboy." "Yeah." "Be there, babies." "We were proud of Mac that day." "But he was so mad we had to take him to the parking lot carnival... and stuffhim full of cotton candy just to calm him down." "The carnival was the best place to go when you wanted to get stuff off your mind." "Because that's where you could see the most amazing things on earth... for only 50 cents." "Bigfoot crap?" "How in the hell are we supposed to know what kind of crap that is?" " It could be dog crap." " It'd have to be one big dog." " Yeah." " And must've eaten a whole bag of dog chow." "Good we can't smell it." " This is so lame." " It's fake." "It's still disgusting." "Hey, guys, there's more stuffback here." "It was there that I got my first clue... about how me and David and Hayley were connected." " Let me see." " Mac, hit the button." "It's just a bear." " That is supposed to scare us?" " Guys, what's in this one?" "I don't know." "What is that?" " Is he okay?" " What's going on?" "Where'd he go?" "It wasrt that scary." "What happened?" "Why'd he run out of there like that?" " David, you okay, man?" " Yeah." "Fine." "L" " I was just too hot in there." " Okay." "Yeah." "Sure." " Yeah, it's hotter than snot." "Let's get another soda and ride some rides." "Fine." "Go to the bathroom." "But meet us at the Tilt-A-Whirl." "Mom made me promise to make sure you stay away from the kissing booth." "You understand?" "Don't even think about going over there." "Serious." "Okay, go." "Bye." "Just one." "Sweetie, aren't you a little young?" "Say, kid, did your mother say it was okay?" "Just on the cheek, okay?" " Oh!" " Hey!" "Let go of her!" "Oh, my God!" " What's wrong?" " Get the bikes!" "Hey." "Hey." "What are you doing?" "Now I remember that kid." "That's the same kid as last year." " Pervert!" " God, he stole my gum!" "We never mentioned that night again because it was just too terrible to think... what would've happened if that guy had caught Fingers- but mostly because of what happened the next day" "Play ball.!" " when we finally had to play the biggest game of our lives." " Don't blink." "It was winner take all, and the prize was nothing less than the sandlot itself." " Did you see that?" " Is that real?" "Sorry." "You need me to call that for you?" "Strike!" "Shut up, doughnut belly." "That's illegal." "You can't pitch like that." "It's legal." "Get used to disappointment." " You can hit it." " Come on." " Aw.!" " Yeah." "You're out." "Come on." "Next victim." "You suck." "Come on." "Sit down." "Come on, you idiot." "Throw it in." "That day I witnessed the beginning of the most important thing in life:" " first love." " Throw it!" "When Singleton realized he was gonna lose, he did something so wrong... that David took his first step down the road of greatness." " You're out." " Are you cracked?" "What'd you do that for, you jive turkey?" "She wants to play with the big boys, that's what she gets." "The sandlot's ours... forever." "Don't mess with my teammates." "And you never, ever hit a girl, creep!" "Like most great things, David hadrt planned what he did." "It was a force of nature inside him, and he did what nature intended." "He came to Hayley's defense." "Later, though, he would have to make a decision... whether or not to come to Hayley's rescue like a knight in shining armor" "Great hit, Hayley." "Really showed them." "And face his greatest fear." "A deadly force of nature that I accidentally turned loose... on the 99th day of the summer of 1972." "That was a really great hit she made." "Almost went all the way over." "Can't be done, Smalls." "No one's ever hit a ball over that junk wall." " Ever?" " Nope." "Too high." "Man, Evil Knievel couldn't even jump that wall." "You knock one off that dryer, that's about as good as it gets." "The nightmare started one week later... when Mac got a new kind ofbat for his birthday." "It was made of aluminum... and he finally did what no one had ever been able to do before." "Yeah!" "Are you taking notes?" " Smalls, did you see that?" " See what?" "That homer." "Kid, it was far out." "I'll get the ball back and I'll hit another one so you can see." "That was incredible." "I get to try the bat next, Mac." "We can get the ball back." "There's got to be some way over that wall." "No!" "Stop!" " You guys, over here." " No.!" "No!" "Stop!" "What are you all doing?" "What are we all doing?" "Smalls, you're the one freaking out." "Bucky, you're acting a fool." "Just step aside so we can get our ball." "It's Johnnie, and I said stay back!" "You might wanna put those away before you hurt yourself, Smalls." "Oh, my gosh." "None of you knows." "Knows about what?" "Tarqell, you said you guys have only been... coming here together for, like, a year, right?" "And, David, you said no one's ever hit a ball over the junk wall." " Right?" " Right." "Mac's the first." " Johnnie, what in the hell are you babbling about?" " The Great Fear." "Spawned by the Beast." "Go over there real slowly... and look through that old dryer and be quiet." "No, no, no." "Only one." " What was that thing?" " The Great Fear." "Like, what does that mean, The Great Fear?" "It's a long story." "Bivouac." "Bivouac." "All those who know this tale have grown up and left the neighborhood." "But my brother, Scotty, was there." "He told me the main stuff." "A kid named Benny TheJet Rodriguez battled the Beast... a dog named Hercules, to get back a baseball won'th about a million bucks." "Benny won." "Hercules got old and died." "Where his story ends is where the story of the Great Fear begins." "Around six years ago, before he died, Hercules made some baby dogs." "One pup was different." "He had big feet and big teeth and he didn't like no one." "He was born to bite, and so nobody wanted him." "For years the pup stayed in the backyard..." "looking under the gate to watch kids walking by." "Kids he wanted to bite." "But there was no way out." "With his big feet, he started to dig." "The digging made him grow huge." "Being alone made him grow mean." "And then the little kid moved into the neighborhood, and he was six years old." "His favorite hero was the Rapid Rocket." "So the little kid believed he was as fast as a speeding rocket." "On his first day of school, he walked right past Mr. Mertle's house." "The night before, Mr. Mertle didn't lock the gate." "And that's when the freak-of-nature pup became known as the Great Fear." "Because the little kid looked at it, and he was afraid." "And because he could smell your fear." "After he got bit by the Great Fear, the little kid disappeared." "Some say he hops around on one leg." "Some say the Great Fear ate him whole." "And some say his parents moved him away... 'cause he got infected with the Great Fear's spit and never talked again." "He barked." "After that, Mr. Mertle chained the Great Fear up to a battleship anchor... so he could never get out again... and never bite kids no more." "And all on account ofbeing chained up forever... the Great Fear's brain got twisted, and he went insane." "And that's why he still digs, 'cause there's no way out." "But he believes there is." "Bucky, that's a hell of a story." "It's the truth." "Like, you've got a great imagination and all... but we're a little old to believe in scary stories." "But, it's all the truth." "Johnnie, we're all, like, 12, and you're, well, you know, just still in the fourth grade." " That was a great story." " Great story, Johnnie." "You sure got a great imagination, man." "Wait." "Look." " You know what that looks like?" " We all see it, Mac." "Shut up." "You know what that sounded like?" " We all heard it, Mac." "Shut up." " Bigfoot." "The junk wall wasrt built to keep things out." "It was built to keep some thing in." " What?" " No one really knows." "Some kind of mutated, insane, bigfoot dog thing." "But this much is certain." "Since the time of the little kid, nothing has gone over that fence." "But if something ever did and anyone tried to go get it... no one would ever see them again." "They'd become dog chow... for the Great Fear." "Back then, fireworks were safe and sane." "You heard stories about kids getting their fingers blown off... but we never knew anyone that that had actually happened to." "Those accidents were caused by firecrackers, not safe and sane fireworks." "You didn't even have to have your parents with you to buy them." "But the one thing your parents always said was..." "Don't spend all your money on the Rocket Riot." "Two Rocket Riots, please." "I've been saving for two years." "Chores, collecting bottles, birthday money." "Here, help me with this." "Bucky, what in the hell are you gonna do with two Rocket Riots?" "Celebrate the birth of our great country, of course." "Oh, and I'm going to turn night into day." "It's about time." "We gonna play ball or what?" "David, man, it's so hot out." "I'm not even supposed to be here." "My mom said if I play ball in this heat, I'll get fungus." "What happened to playing baseball all day, every day?" "All summer." "Come on, David." "It's hot." "Hey, do you guys wanna go swimming?" " Oh, yeah." " All right." "Because of it being so hot that day and because of Hayley's pool..." "I got another clue about how me and David and Hayley were connected... for the one moment later that summer when I would change the fortunes of all." "Arert you gonna go swimming?" "No, it's stupid." "Girls ruin everything." "Even with that clue, I couldn't put it all together yet." "But I would soon enough, and like all great moments in history... it would be at the very last minute." " Johnnie." " Yeah?" "Isn't David gonna come swimming too?" "Mmm, I don't think so." "Maybe he will later though." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Come on." "Come on." "Hurry up." "There he goes." "Hey, big guy." "What's the matter?" "I thought he liked me." "What's the matter with me?" "Oh, tiger, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you." "You are perfect." "You just remember this:" "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." " Hmm?" " Oh, great." "Thanks, Mom." "Anytime, big guy." "Johnnie, right?" "Uh, yes." "My name is Johnnie, sir." "You know, I gotta go away on business next week... so, why don't you come over Friday morning... and you and me will take my project for a test flight before I go." " Me, sir?" " Yeah, sure." "I mean, you can set it up and you can launch it if you want to." " Rockets are your life, right?" " Affirmative." "Affirm" " Yeah." "You know, Johnnie, my wife and my daughter... they're not so impressed with all my, uh, science junk in the garage." "It'd be nice to share it with somebody who truly appreciates it." " I'll be here, sir." " No." "Don't call me sir." "It's Roger." " Roger." " Wilco." "Over and out." "It's a little NASA humor." "Okay, so we'll-we'll see you on Friday, right?" "Count on it, sir, er, Roger." " Come on, Johnnie." " Johnnie, come on." "Come on, Johnnie." " Hi." " Hi." "That's what it was all about when I was a kid." "Baseball, summer, rockets and fireworks." "They went together like hot dogs and soda." "The only difference between us and the big leaguers... was that we werert playing at Dodger Stadium." "We were playing someplace better." "Smalls, that's the most far-out thing I've ever seen." "Happy birthday, U.S.A." "Hey." "W-Where's Hayley?" "I thought she was coming to the, uh, airport with us." "She's over at Penny and Jenny's and she says she loves you." "Now, let's go." "Take it easy now." "Easy, easy, easy, ea" "Hello, Mr. Good- I mean, Roger." "It's Friday morning." "It's me, Johnnie." "I'm here." "Be nice to share it with somebody who truly appreciates it." "You can set it up and you can launch it if you want to." "Rockets are your life, right?" "Rockets are your life, right?" "Right." "Might as well get it completely ready, I guess." "You are one lucky astronaut, Jake." "Oh, my God." " Honey" " We cannot go back." "Hi, Johnnie." "Whatcha doing?" "Hi." "Uh, just cleaning up the sandlot." "Lots of work to do." "See ya." "Oh." "My dad had to go on his trip a week early." "He said to tell you he's sorry he missed your meeting, whatever that means." "But you guys can do your mission, whatever that means... as soon as he gets back." "Oh." "Okay." "Great." "Oh." "I almost forgot." "Everyone's coming over tomorrow." "My dad's gonna be on television talking about his rocket." "Really?" "Gee, that's super." "Well, it's- it's been a long and difficult design process..." " but after two years" " That is so cool." "Of, uh, hard work... uh, we'll be launching a model of the" "Space shuttle very soon." "The work that my team and I have- have done is undoubtedly" "Awesome!" "Hayley, I didn't know your dad was famous." "Neither did I." "... my team and myself is" "He must be a genius." "I guess it's not just science junk in the garage after all, is it, Mom?" "No, it isn't, honey." "Your daddy is a very important man." "I think it's safe to say that this could be... the most important piece of engineering... in the history of mankind." " Sorry." "I have to go." " Uh, well" "What's he doing?" "Well, uh, maybe the shock ofknowing some famous science dude was just too much for him." "Like, wow, Smalls, I don't remember you setting off a firecracker this big!" "Smalls, what are you looking at?" "Johnnie?" "Wow." "What's that?" "Up there." "That speck." "It's not a U.F.O., meathead." "Wait." "Is it?" "It looks exactly like " "Johnnie, please, please tell me you didn't set off my dad's rocket." "It was an accident." "I swear!" "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God!" "Ew.!" "Smalls, you mean to tell me that you launched a scale model... of the NASA space shuttle on purpose?" "No." "Hayley's dad said that me and him were going to, but he didn't come, and" "It was an accident!" "I swear!" "It's the greatest feat of engineering in the history of mankind.!" "The future of the United States space program depends on that thing!" "And if I may add myself, it's won'th, well... more than your whole life, Smalls!" "I don't feel so good." "Give him room." "Give him air." "We've gotta get that shuttle back." "My dad is gonna kill me.!" "David, where are you going?" " Home." " Arert you gonna help?" "Forget it." "You'll never get it back." "It's gone." "Forever." "Hayley, whers your dad getting back?" " In five days." " Five days!" "That's an impenetrable fortress!" "We can't get the shuttle back in five days!" "It's impossible!" "Smalls, never say die." "Nothing is impossible." "Follow me." "It's impossible." "What happened to never say die?" "Why don't we just go and ask Mr. Mertle to get it for us?" "Are you nuts?" "He's the one that left his gate open so the Great Fear could get out... and chase the little kid and bite him dead!" "Forget about it." "Anybody got any genius ideas?" "Like my brother Scotty before me, I was a science whiz." "A mechanical genius." "And so, things started right at the top of the idea food chain." "Okay." "Let's go." "Okay, it's clear." "Okay." "We got it." "Apparently I've made a crucial mis-assessment of the Great Fear." "I've got tons more toys at home... but I'm afraid they're no match for the sort of evil power we're dealing with." "We have an idea." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" "You wanna get it back, don't you?" "Yeah, but" "She'll be fine." "We'll lower her over the fence, right on top of the shuttle." "Her claws'll grab it, and we'll just pull her back over gently." "But her claws only come out when she's scared." "Exactly." "Oh." "Forward." "Okay." "Farther." "Keep on going." "Stop." "Okay." "A little bit farther." " We're gonna get that shuttle." " We're gonna get it." "I know." "We're gonna get it." "Lower her down." "A little bit lower." "I think we got it." "Pull her up.!" "Pull her up.!" "Miss Susan B.!" "Oh, no." "Pull her up.!" "Haul her up.!" "In the movies, this is the part where the reinforcements are supposed to arrive." "Supposed to." " Who's that?" " Want to get that thing back?" "You talk to me." "I've seen that kid before in school." " Yeah." "I've seen him around school too." " His dad drives a chopper." "Kid, who are you?" "Shh." "They call me the Retriever." "What's that supposed to mean?" "When I was little... my Frisbee went over a neighbor's fence." "I retrieved it, but their dog... used it as a chew toy and ruined it." "So I took his name tag." "It's what I do." "I'm a retriever." "The Great Fear is the ultimate challenge." "No stupid dog can match my skill." "But there's no way over thatjunk wall." "I want that dog tag!" "And I'll get your shuttle back too." "Deal?" "Deal." "Close the fence after me, and no matter what you hear... no matter what I say... do not open this board." "Understand?" " No matter what." " Don't worry." "We got it." "We completely understand." " Hold on tighter." " Little higher." "Get the corner." " Got it?" " Everybody lean against it." "Okay." "Let me out." "Hello." "Let him out." "He must have forgot something." "Guys, hurry up." "Let him out." "What part ofno matter what did you not understand?" "It won't happen again." "Rookies." "Amateurs." "Hayley, I got a good feeling about him." "I think your worries are over." "No dog alive can measure up to that kid." "Hello." "I was kidding." "Aaah.!" "Let me out.!" " Should we let him out?" " I'm not kidding.!" " No." "You heard what he said." " You want that shuttle back, right?" "For the love of God.!" "Help.!" " Well, keep holding it shut." " Let me out.!" " Nice doggy." "Nice doggy." "Good puppy." "Aaah!" "I don't know what that thing is... but that's no dog." "What was it?" "What's back there?" "Some kind of mutated bigfoot insane dog thing." "I'm officially retiring." "You're on your own." "Good luck, but you'll never get that shuttle back." "Um, here's your stuff." "Nothing we tried had worked." "The Great Fear was, we thought, clearly aided by some evil force from beyond." "In other words, we were out of ideas, and I was dead meat." "Until Mac had an epiphany." "Which, since it was such a girlie word, he didn't have many of... but this time it was really important." "I gotta take a ride." "I need to think." "Seventy-five cents for a ticket?" "That's ridiculous." "That's it!" "We dig." "All right." "I'm goir in." "But if I say pull me out, you guys better pull me out." "Don't worry." "We got you right here." "Don't worry, Mac." "We got it." "Don't worry." "Pull me out!" " Sure." " Don't worry, man." "Godspeed, Mac." "Give me my bat." "Here you go." "Aaah.!" "Tunnel King, this is base." "What's happening?" "Over." "Okay." "I see it." "I'm initiating manual evac." "You're what?" "I'm gonna reach up, grab the hook and attach it." " Oh." "Yeah." "Okay." " Oh!" "What's that?" "Hey." "I got it." " I got it." " Nice!" "Oops." "What vibrations?" "Abort." "Repeat." "Abort mission." "Abort.!" "What the hell is that?" "Aaah!" "Aaah!" "Aaah!" "Aaah!" "Aaah!" "Aaah!" "Get me out of here!" "Get me out of here!" "Aaah!" "Oh!" "Pull!" "Pull!" "Aaah!" "Get me out of here!" "Aaah!" "Come on." "It's coming!" "It's coming!" " What is that?" " What's that smell?" " Oh, no." " Johnnie." "Whatever that thing was... it's worse than anything you could ever imagine." "It almost killed me." "It was evil." "A good soldier knows when to surrender." "I'm a good soldier." "And I crapped my pants." "So, Hayley, good luck... but our work here is done." "Badly, but done." "I just hope your dad isn't too mad." "It was the lowest point of the summer." "I had single-handedly destroyed America's future in space." "But it's when they're at their lowest point... that great men take great action." "I'm really sorry, Hayley." "I'll make sure I take all the blame." "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "I guess." "It's just where's David?" "I thought he'd come back." "Because, you know, I thought he" "Never mind." "Forget it." "It's stupid." "It's not stupid." "He does." "Does what?" "Likes you." " He does?" " Duh." "Then how come he never said?" "Boys don't do that." "Did you ever tell him?" "Could you tell him for me?" "Why?" "Because he's the fastest boy I ever saw... and I thought maybe he could, you know" "Forget it." "It's stupid." "No." "It's not stupid." "Wait here." "I'll be back." "It was right at that moment... that I finally put all the pieces together... and understood how me and Hayley and David were all connected." "Nike was the winged goddess of victory in Greek mythology." "She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of Olympus." "She inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization." "David, man, this is bad news." "David Vincent Durango was a chivalrous warrior." "Yeah, David." "Like, it's the baddest." "David, wait." "It was my fault." "I made a big mistake." "You don't have to do this." "Yeah, I do, Smalls." "I have to do this." "Oh, my God." "You're him, aren't you?" "You're the little kid from the story." "Just do it." "I'll man the cable." "You guys stay here." " We got it!" "We pulled it over!" " Fantastic.!" "Whoo!" "All right.!" "Nice job!" "I knew you could do it!" "Look.!" "Holy crap!" "What are we waiting for?" "Let's roll.!" "Did you see the size of that thing?" "Come on." "Throw it in!" "Daddy.!" "Daddy.!" "Lookit.!" "It's the Rapid Rocket.!" "And a horsey!" "Aaah!" "Ooh!" "Oh, shit!" "He'll never outrun that dog!" "Oh, yeah, he will!" "Let's ride!" "Aaah!" "Oh, my God!" "It caved in on him!" " He's six feet down at least!" " He's gonna suffocate!" "The tunnel collapsed!" "He's at the bottom!" "More like seven feet down.!" " Keep digging!" "Dig!" " I don't see him.!" " Oh, my God." " He doesn't look like he's breathing." " Doesrt look too good." " Is he gonna be all right?" "Whoa." "He's not so bad." "Thanks, uh..." " Goliath." " He's not so bad." " Like the story." " Yeah." "Of course." "Of course." "Oh, yeah." " Hello?" " Hello, sir." "We, um, brought your dog back." "Goliath?" " How'd he get out?" " Well, sir, it was my fault." "We kind of lost something in your backyard... and we tried to get it back, and... we knocked your wall down." " You're joking?" " No, sir." "Ten years ago- summer of'62, I believe- a bunch of kids lost a baseball in my backyard." "They tried everything to get it back- all crazy stuff- because that ball was priceless." "They made a mess of my yard, knocked down my fence... and all they had to do was come knock on the door, and I would have gotten it for them." " Great, Smalls.!" "You almost got me killed.!" " Way to go, Smalls." "Good job, Smalls." "But they were scared... because of some crazy neighborhood story... about me being a mean old man that raised up dogs to eat kids." "You believe that nonsense?" "So... what did you lose back here?" "Well, um, just the future of the United States space program." "Oooh.!" "That's somethir." "Now, why didn't you just come knock on the door?" "I would have gotten it for you." "Well, sir, uh" "Yeah." "That story about me's still hanging around, isn't it?" " Kind of." " Well, what are we gonna do about that?" "So, you knocked over my sculpture, huh?" "Sculpture?" "My wall." "Took me three years to build that work of art." "Yes, sir." "But we'll fix it." "We promise." " You will, will ya?" " Yes, sir." "Oh, no!" "He's getting away again!" "Leave him be." "He's probably going for a visit." " You kids all live round here?" " Yes, sir." "I tell you what." "I'll have all this junk cleaned out of here... if you come round... and give Goliath a walk twice a week." "I don't do that anymore, and he doesn't get out much." "I wouldn't want him to turn mean or anything, you know." "Yes, sir." "We'll walk him for you." "And you gotta play baseball all summer long so I can listen to the games." "It's been 10 years since there was a real good bunch of players on the sandlot." "And I miss 'em." "And, uh, no more fences." "I'm tired of kids thinking I'm grouchy." "Deal." " Where'd he go?" "You better find him, Johnnie." "I'm not chasing that dog all over town." " He's not running away." " What's he sittir there for?" " What's he doir?" " We knew it." " I don't get it." " What are they doing?" "Boys." "I swear." "He's in love." "That's his girlfriend dog." "That's why he's always wanted to get out." "To visit her." "Oh, yeah." "We knew that." "Yeah, of course." "We knew." "Hey, is anybody hungry?" "Let's go get some pizza." "Well" " Thanks." " Um, you're welcome." "Oh, so you can talk." "Um, yeah." "So that was the summer that David taught me the greatest lesson in life:" "That love conquers all- even your greatest fear." "Mr. Goodfairer never found out I launched his rocket." "But it didn't matter because his blueprints were America's future in space... not the model of the shuttle." "Goliath and Tiny had five puppies." "Hayley, Jenny and Penny each got one for their own." "Mr. Mertle kept two of them." "The Retriever made peace with his inner demons." "His family moved to Australia... and he grew up to be the host of a popular Animal Planet television show." "Hey." "You wouldn't know anything about a kid in this neighborhood... goes around stealing dog tags, would you?" "No, sir." "Oh, I think I hear my mom calling me." "Yeah." "I kept in touch with most everyone over the years, and I found out... that Mac joined the army after high school." "He got wounded in the Gulf War, won a Purple Heart andjoined the Peace Corps." "Fingers and his brother Saul started a record label... for a new kind of music called hip-hop." "They named their company Deaf Jam Records." "Penny and Jenny never did anything more remarkable... than the most difficult thing on earth." "They both raised three kids and lived happily ever after with their families." "With the fortune he made in the music business..." "Fingers started the most successful gum company on earth." "You know it as Kissing Booth Bubble Gum." "Tarqell" " Well" "Tarqell was abducted by aliens on March 21, 1986... and no one ever saw him again." "Hayley became a supermodel... and a pitcher for the United States Olympic softball team." "She won two gold medals." "After David defeated Goliath, he got a nickname." "From then on he was known as David RocketDurango." "Hayley and David went all the way through high school together." "After that, they went their separate ways." "Ten years after college, they met again." "At that meeting, just like the first time... he had ever had a chance to talk to her in grade school..." "David was so nervous he couldn't speak." "So she spoke for him, and she said..." "You're supposed to say, 'Will you marry me?" "'" "And he did." "Oh, I almost forgot." "I grew up and went to work... for theJet Propulsion Laboratories." "Hey." "Rockets are still my life."