Baseball spring training is officially underway and this April, “42,” a biopic about Jackie Robinson, will be in theaters  Hopefully, it will be the next great baseball movie. But it has a lot to live up to, given the timeless baseball flicks that have come before it.

“The Natural”and “Field of Dreams” are both strong contenders for the best baseball movie there is.

A baseball version of the “Odyssey,” “The Natural,” features Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford), who embodies both Greek tragedy and heroism. He hits titanic homeruns with Wonderboy, a bat he carved himself from the tree under which his father died, which was subsequently struck by lightning. “The Natural”illustrates larger-than-life players and baseball’s legendary mystique.

Based on the book “Shoeless Joe,” “Field of Dreams” depicts how Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) plows his cornfield to build a baseball diamond where ghost players, who have been dead for decades, can feel “the thrill of the grass” once again.

Foremost is the theme of fathers and sons, and how baseball brings them together. It’s astonishing how meaningful this movie makes something as simple as playing catch with your dad.

Though both of these films are absolute classics, neither surpasses the undeniable greatness of “The Sandlot.”

“The Sandlot” incorporates the major themes of other great baseball movies. It has the mysticism of “The Natural,” as every kid dreams of becoming a baseball legend.

Every character worships Babe Ruth and constantly recites his aggrandizing nicknames. As Benny points out, he was “less than a God, but more than a man.” They are all stunned when Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones) humanizes “the Great Bambino” by calling him by his real first name, George.

They also must overcome Herculean tasks. They square off with “the Beast,” a mutant monster dog who ensnares every ball that goes over the left field wall – a dog named Hercules, no less.

The movie’s most memorable line – said by Babe Ruth – reflects this mythical sentiment: “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart kid, and you can never go wrong.”

And like the field in Iowa, the Sandlot, with its patchy grass and rusted metal walls, is a real-life heaven for those who play there. The film also addresses baseball’s effect on father-son relationships.

The main character is 11-year-old Scott Smalls. His father died when he was a baby, and he doesn’t have a great relationship with his stepdad, Bill (Dennis Leary). Without a dad, Scott doesn’t have anyone to teach him America’s pastime – that is, until he makes friends with Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez. Ultimately, baseball brings Bill and Scott closer, as their last scene together shows the two of them playing catch.

But “The Sandlot” also has its own theme, which makes it the best baseball movie there is. Scott’s narration describing the field says it best:

“It was like their own little baseball kingdom or something,” Scott says. “I found out they never kept score. They never chose sides. They never even really stopped playing the game – it just went on forever. Every day they picked up right where they left off the day before. It was like an endless…dream game.”

Behind the lurid contracts and steroid scandals of today’s MLB, baseball is a game that kids play because it’s fun.

“The Sandlot”is about a bunch of kids who play ball all day, every day, “rain, shine, tidal wave,” for no other reason than because they love it. Period. That’s it. That’s all you need.

Every ballplayer was a kid playing in their backyards at some point. In this sense, “The Sandlot”is like a prequel to all other baseball movies.

Neighborhood ball is baseball in its purest form, and “The Sandlot” portrays it perfectly.

Add an incredible soundtrack and scenes like the trash-talking exchange and subsequent ass-kicking of the local travel team; the night game under the fireworks; the s’mores monologue; Wendy Peffercorn; and the PF Flyers and you’ve got the No. 1 baseball movie of all time.

A better baseball movie than “The Sandlot?” You’re killin’ me, Smalls.

James O’Hare is a senior history and political science major. His column appears weekly. He loves cheeseburgers. He can be reached at [email protected].

Published on February 19, 2013 at 3:00 am