News Art LaFleur, character actor who played Babe Ruth in ‘The Sandlot,’ dies at 78 November 21, 2021 Elise Brisco and Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY Comments Off on Art LaFleur, character actor who played Babe Ruth in ‘The Sandlot,’ dies at 78 Art LaFleur, who played the role of baseball icon Babe Ruth in 1993 movie "The Sandlot," has died. He was 78 and had lived with Parkinson's disease.