Big League Money

Hollywood has produced some outstanding sports movies in the past 70+ years.  Some of the notables focus on baseball, such as The Natural, The Rookie, A League of Their Own, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, For the Love of the Game, Mr. Baseball… I could continue for pages.  Recently, however, a new film has jumped into the playing field, revealing a side of the sport that hasn’t been divulged before. Some may have heard of it because of its main actor, Brad Pitt, and others may have just heard the raves reviews.  Unlike the movies mentioned before that focus on the players and the actual, physical game, Moneyball delves into the “game” played in the front office.  To an amateur baseball fan, such as myself, precious time is rarely wasted on trying to process the moves, plays, and strategies the front office makes behind the scenes. We just love the game and the exertion players leave out on the diamond.   In Moneyball, Brad Pitt plays the General Manager Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s back in 2002.  Although the Oakland A’s could compete on the field with big named teams such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, they would never be able to win with the team’s miniscule budget.  In present day sports, money is everything- it buys talent, fan support, and ultimately success.  But for these small named teams such as the Oakland A’s, a new system had to be created. As Peter Brand, assistant GM to the A’s, says in the movie to Billy Beans “Your goals shouldn’t be to buy players. Your goal should be to buy wins. In order to buy wins, you need to buy runs.”

Using computer software and statistical formulas, Beane and Brand created a roster based primarily on “on-base percentage.”  Beane stressed that if a player gets on base, through a hit or a walk, he has a better percentage of scoring.  All other statistics are just for show.  And, as Brand said, “you need to buy runs” in order to win. 

Even though the new system, tag lined “Moneyball” flopped in the beginning, it later lead to the Oakland 12 game win streak, a new league record.  The strategy, however, did not turn into a trip to the World Series for Oakland, but it did lead the Red Sox to their 2004 World Series win.  Today, teams have implemented the system as a means to beat big budget teams.  As Darrell Rovell says in his CNBC Sports Biz blog,http://www.cnbc.com/id/44612271, the Tampa Bay Rays were able to make it to the World Series despite the same low budget.

Although the “Moneyball” system may not have been an overall success for Billy Beane and his Oakland A’s, it did prov e to be successful for other teams.  And, undoubtedly,  it made for an epic baseball movie.

 -Written by: Nichole Antilla

Check out the trailer for Moneyball