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n the summer of 1962, brainy, shy fifth-grader Scott Smalls moves to a Los Angeles suburb, where his mother encourages him to make friends in the neighborhood. He tries to join a group of boys who play baseball daily in a local sandlot, but is embarrassed by his inability to catch or throw the ball. An attempt to learn to play catch with his stepfather, Bill, results in a black eye. Nevertheless, he is invited to join the team by their leader and best player, Benny Rodriguez, who teaches him the basic skills needed to play the game.

When catcher Hamilton "Ham" Porter hits a home run into an adjacent backyard, Smalls attempts to retrieve the ball but is stopped by the other boys, who tell him of "the Beast", a large and highly territorial English Mastiff which the boys' imaginations have transformed into a kid-eating "giant gorilla-dog thing". Many baseballs hit into the yard over the years have all been claimed by the Beast, which is kept chained up by its owner, Mr. Mertle.