Moneyball

"This is building in all the intelligence that we have to project players. It's about getting things down to one number. Using the stats the way we read them, we'll find value in players that nobody else can see. People are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws...age, appearance, personality. Bill James and mathematics cut straight through that. Of the 20,000 notable players for us to consider, I believe that there is a championship team of 25 people that we can afford, because everyone else in baseball undervalues them." - Peter Brand

release year: 2011
genre: baseball drama
viewing setting: home Bluray 10/26/25 and 6/10/13

synopsis: This is an account of how GM Billy Beane used a minimal payroll to put a winning Oakland A's baseball team on the field in 2002.

impressions: This was based on the best-selling book. Long story short, rather than going by the time-honored way of putting together teams (which involved a lot of hunches and scouts) this guy tried something new and used specific statistical data to create a team that could get on base and score runs - without a payroll in the hundreds of millions. It's a blueprint for successful small-market baseball; a lot of people fought him and ridiculed him, but what he did worked, and has helped change the way things are done ever since.

acting: Brad Pitt does a good job as the baseball executive who takes a chance and risks his career; you can tell he cares more than he ever lets on. Jonah Hill is a little nerdy, but efficient, as the guy who keeps all the stats in the background. Philip Seymour hoffman is the on-field manager who clashes with the seemingly-insane executive.

final word: Good baseball movie with ties to actual events.

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