Moneyball

“There’s something romantic about baseball”, quotes Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s. But later he answers to a colleague, “Adapt or die!” This is his dilemma. Managing the team with the smallest budget in the American League Billy Beane is sick and tired of having his players snatched out from under him and losing to teams with deeper pockets. In order to solve his problem and forced to stay within his budgetary constraints, Beane has decided to put his career on the line and try something new, Sabermetrics.

Moneyball is the true story of Billy Beane who had the courage to stand up to 150 years of baseball tradition in order to apply a mathematical theory to the recruiting and signing of baseball players. His assistant (Jonah Hill) provides the analysis and Beane provides the clout to do it his way. He incurs the wrath of his scouting team, his manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and most importantly the fans. But he knows that if he commits to the idea fully and it works, he’ll be changing the game of baseball forever.

Sabermetrics was created by a statistician and baseball historian by the name of Bill James. He named his abstract Sabermetrics after the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR). But the beauty of this film is that the math doesn’t matter. The film is so smartly written and entertaining that the statistical analysis is in the background and the people are brought to the front. This is a story about human nature, resisting change, and courage in the face of opposition. It is more than a baseball movie; it is more than dry statistics. It is about seeing players with new eyes and finding value in the under-appreciated.

Brad Pitt is excellent as Billy Beane. His character is so fascinating that you are constantly watching his face to see what he is thinking. He looks completely natural in this setting and when surrounded by his scouts and managers you feel like you are sitting in a real recruiting session. When I first saw Philip Seymour Hoffman I barely recognized him. He looks like a hundred managers you’ve seen before and when he opposes Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane you just want to go up and smack him. He represents tradition and the way things have always been done and Jonah Hill’s character represents new ideas and a way of leveling the playing field. The chemistry between Hill and Pitt is outstanding. They are these quirky little Davids standing up to Goliath.

It is unusual for Hollywood to make a film about math but after the success of last year’s The Social Network, it only goes to show that a good story is a good story. If a film is well cast, passionately acted, expertly directed and begins with a good script, then even statistical analysis can be interesting and fun. Moneyball is an excellent film with lots of laughs, insight and a memorable performance by Pitt. Not only does it get you in the locker room, but behind the scenes and in the front office too. I loved this insider’s look into the game of baseball and even if you are not a fan there is much here to love.

Rating: Must See Even if you are not a fan of baseball, there is much here to love