Moneyball

Few things to preface this post:

1) I think making sports movies that really resonate with the viewers is tough. Sports is the ultimate drama because it is (hopefully always) unscripted. Most of the storylines are boring. But every now and again you get a storyline that captures the country and everyone is invested in it - even non-sports people. So for Hollywood to try and capture that on screen is tough. And usually the best sports stories (except the Mighty Ducks, obviously) are based on real events. There isn't always a Hollywood ending. Baseball is also my favorite sport. I couldn't totally say why, but there's just something about it. The movie called it "a certain romanticism about the game." I don't know if I would use the word romance, but I could see it. It's a beautiful game.

2) I read Moneyball in 2005. It was a little over my head, and I honestly can't say I remember much from it, however I remember being mind blown at the time. In 2005 I was also 16/17, so I was still not fully understanding all the statistics.

3) I barely remember much of what happened to the Oakland A's in the 2001/2002 seasons, being only 12/13 years old. I do remember that team being great, more on that later.

I've been super excited about this movie. I was curious to see how it all came out on screen, because I was worried it would of been too dumb-downed for viewers or it was going to be too Hollywood-ified and taken away from the real story.

I was pleased with the movie. I think I laughed more than most, because I found Brad Pitt's composure and cocky attitude to be dead on with what I've heard about Billy Beane. I've seen very little of Beane compared to Pitt, so it felt like Pitt just being smarter than everyone else in the room.

The development happened too fast without totally explaining it to the non-baseball fans. I guess most people who would see this movie would already know what the movie is talking about. But that limits the appeal of the movie. I heard them talking about statistics and started getting all excited.

What's interesting was the dynamic of how Beane was breaking traditional baseball rules, which were ridiculous, and was using new statistics to determine probability of success. I'm not a mathematician, but it all makes sense. And it tears away all the usual scouts looks: "He hits well." But why does he have a terrible average? "He can run quick" So why does he have 4 stolen bases? "He's got no confidence because he has an ugly girlfriend." Is that what that really means??

I don't buy in to all of the statistics baseball has created. You can talk about them till you're blue in the face to me. WAR makes sense to me, but at the same time it doesn't. Who is that replacement? How do they determine that? Again, it's all over my head. But, I trust/believe in the brainpower smarter than me to know. And it works for some teams that understand it, embrace it, and do it correctly. You can't half-ass it. You either do it 100% or you don't do it at all.

There was an interesting article in Sports Illustrated this week by Tom Verducci about how the Red Sox took Beane's formula and put it on steroids (baseball references intended). By having the resources that Oakland couldn't, the Sox could take on players who are good for the system and work together. It's how they got David Ortiz when no one else wanted him.

Back to the movie, it didn't really capture how good the team was before they implied these Moneyball stats. The team had 3 of the best pitchers in the game. Miguel Tejada was an MVP candidate every year. Eric Chavez was considered the best third basemen in baseball (what a quick fall from grace eh?). Jermaine Dye was also a solid contributor. So they had a great core to start with before adding Hatteberg and everyone. The streak of 20 games was improbable. No one could ever predict that. To give Beane all the credit is facetious. Chalk it up to the baseball gods and dumb luck.

Was the movie a "home run"? For me, yes. Only because I love baseball so damn much. To an average baseball fan? Probably not. It didn't have that Hollywood "our hero sees success in the end" storyline. And that's fine - because that's what happened. I don't think it'll go down as my favorite movie ever, or my favorite sports movie ever, but I certainly enjoyed it, and am looking forward to seeing how everyone else embraces it - or doesn't.

It's a beautiful game.