Though the Oakland Athletics have never won a championship under general manager Billy Beane, his unique statistical philosophies allowed them to remain competitive in the early 2000s despite one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. The movie Moneyball – based on the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis – focuses on Beane and his attempts to field a successful Athletics team in 2002, as he’s challenged to replace stars Jason Isringhausen, Johnny Damon, and Jason Giambi (leaving to free agency).
After meeting Peter Brand (a fictional character based on Paul DePodesta) and taking him under his wing, Beane is inspired to take this new approach to building a competitive team while fitting payroll constraints.
Their concept, in basic terms, is exploiting the current market inefficiencies in the sport: at the time, on-base percentage (OBP, for short) was an undervalued skill, and Beane takes advantage of this by acquiring players with such skills at relatively-cheap prices – specifically David Justice and Scott Hatteberg.
He also fills out his bullpen with Chad Bradford, a reliever who is undervalued by most teams because of his unconventional delivery.
The movie features some excellent performances, especially on the part of Brad Pitt as Beane, Jonah Hill as Brand, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who plays A’s manager Art Howe, portrayed as stubborn and defiant.
The Hollywood effect is pretty apparent. There are shirtless scenes of Brad Pitt. Beane’s daughter is seen throughout the movie, seemingly only as a device by which viewers can connect with Beane on an emotional level. And one of the constant narratives throughout the film is Beane’s own experience as a baseball player and a former first-round pick – his failures as a player are depicted throughout the movie for dramatic purposes, and seem to reflect a motivation behind Beane’s revolutionary approach to building his team.
While the approach is not successful at first – as the A’s fall to 20-26 by late May, they begin to gel partway through the season, culminating in a 20-game winning streak and a division title.
Overall, it’s an entertaining movie. As a viewer, it’s easy to root for Beane, and the movie itself nicely blends the dramatic element with a few laughs. The film’s got something to offer for everyone, including those that aren’t deeply invested in baseball.
