The Transformation Of Mike Vitar From The Sandlot To Now

Fans of director David Mickey Evans' now-cult classic 1993 surprise hit, "The Sandlot," still no doubt find themselves uttering, on occasion, the famous phrase that launched a thousand clips: "You're killing me, Smalls!" But the line (delivered by the still sneakily prolific former child star, Patrick Renna) is just one element in a long list of credentials that, to this day, allow the plucky baseball movie to maintain its place in audiences' hearts alongside other nostalgic '80s and '90s coming-of-age films. (See: "Stand by Me," "Now and Then," and "The Craft.") 

Another important key to the film's success came from its charismatic young protagonist, Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez, played by former teen idol Mike Vitar. "The Sandlot" garnered Vitar an enormous following in the days before up-and-coming actors could grab an assist from social media, and propelled him to YA superstardom in a relatively short span of time. Now, nearly three decades after its initial release, "The Sandlot" is winning over audiences all over again on Hulu, and a whole new generation of fans are wondering about the actor behind the kid that — for a handful of years in the early 1990s — everyone wanted to be.

Way, way back in the pre-digital ages, teen magazines like "Tiger Beat," "Teen Beat," and "Big Bopper" (aka "BOP") were the place to go if you wanted to geek out over your favorite actor or musician. The magazines came with tear-out posters that swooning middle schoolers could use to shellac their bedroom or closet walls, and were an absolute must-book for young celebs. 

Though some of the publications date back to the 1960s, the '80s and '90s were their golden era, and helped propel the careers of a bunch of teen heartthrobs, including Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jonathan Brandis, Eddie Furlong, Devon Sawa, Jared Leto, all three of the Lawrence Brothers and, of course, "Sandlot" star Mike Vitar. But Vitar was more than just a bright-eyed pretty face, and he quickly found his niche when he landed a memorable role in another still-beloved sports movie, the first direct sequel to Disney's beloved hockey hit.

After the success of Disney's first 'Ducks' installment, 1992's "The Mighty Ducks," the studio opted to turn the heartwarming (and, notably, co-ed) hockey flick into a trilogy, casting rising star Vitar as the (literally) unstoppable Luis Mendoza in both follow-ups. The "Mighty Ducks" sequels saw Vitar transform from the scrawny, scrappy-but-cool kid on your little team to a full-fledged teen idol, with every bit as much star power as his "Ducks" co-star, the pre-"Dawson's Creek" Joshua Jackson. But unlike Jackson, whose steady acting career has wavered only briefly and infrequently in the past thirty years, Vitar never went on to star in another feature film. 

Vitar's career more closely aligned with that of fellow "Ducks" star Marguerite Moreau, who portrayed all-around badass Connie in the franchise, but would best be remembered for her role opposite Paul Rudd as Katie in the cult-classic "Wet Hot American Summer." (A role she successfully reprised in both 2015's "Wet Hot American Summer: First Days of Camp," and 2017's "Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later.") But (again) unlike Moreau, who landed a consistent stream of recurring roles in various television series (including "Parenthood" and "Grey's Anatomy"), Vitar barely dipped his toe into the world of TV before retiring from acting for good in 1997.

Mike Vitar's filmography didn't end with "D2: The Mighty Ducks." He returned to the franchise in 1996 for the third installment, "D3: The Mighty Ducks," reprising the role of Luis. He also booked one-episode guest spots on two television dramas that were popular at the time, "NYPD Blue" and "Chicago Hope." But by 1997, it seems Vitar had lost interest in acting. The heartthrob who had so frequently graced the pages of all those teen magazines certainly could've continued to have a career on the big or small screen if that had been his passion. Instead, around the same time as his final credited appearances, he graduated from high school and began working with the Gerber Ambulance company in Torrence, California, as an EMT.

Shortly thereafter, Vitar began saving lives as a firefighter. He joined the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2002, which his former "Mighty Ducks" co-star, Jeffrey Nordling, confirmed in an interview with Time Magazine. Nordling called Vitar a "great, great guy" and added that the two share a love of baseball and played together in a league for four or five years.

Vitar chose a noble profession, but he got himself into some legal and ethical hot water on Halloween night in 2015. He was one of five men who intervened when they spotted a stranger handing out candy. Though Vitar wasn't the off-duty firefighter who choked the man in question, the incident was captured on video, and the victim, who suffered serious health consequences, successfully sued his assailants for $7.4 million. Vitar kept his job but was suspended for six months without pay.

In "The Sandlot," Benny imagines that he's having a conversation with an apparition of the late Babe Ruth (Art Lafleur). During that scene, the Great Bambino tells the young phenom that legends never die. While the rest of the kids cherish their memories from that summer and move on with their lives, Benny goes on to become a star for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In real life, almost the opposite is true. The stars of "The Sandlot" have continued to act and to frequent the celebrity appearance circuit, while Mike Vitar has opted to stay out of the spotlight. 

Tom Guiry (Smalls), Patrick Renna (Ham), Chauncey Leopardi (Squints), Marty York (Yeah-Yeah), Brandon Quintin Adams (Kenny), Victor DiMattia (Timmy), Shane Obedzinski (Tommy), and Grant Gelt (Bertram Weeks) have been reuniting on television and at in-person events since "The Sandlot" made its mark on American pop culture. But Vitar, who was arguably the film's breakout sensation, has been conspicuously absent. For example, when the cast visited NBC's "Today" in 2018 to celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary, he was the only member of the fictional baseball team not in attendance. Vitar doesn't join in at fan conventions either, and he's only featured in archival footage in the 2018 special "Legends Never Die: The Sandlot Story." This firefighter and family man has eschewed fame and prefers to keep his private life private. 

If all those fans of Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez (especially the rabid female fans for whom he was their first crush) are really curious about what he's been up to for the past 30 years, they only have to log onto social media. But it won't be Mike Vitar's accounts they should follow. He's not a particularly active user compared to the woman who married the hunky actor-turned-firefighter, photographer Kym Vitar. Kym maintains Instagram and Facebook accounts as well as a website in part to promote her business and in part to share updates about their family.

Mike and Kym wed in 2006 and have three children. The Vitars still reside in California, where both Mike and Kym grew up. They're raising their family away from the cameras (well, at least away from any cameras that don't belong to Kym), but we're willing to bet the Vitar kids still throw a ball around with their dad every once in a while.