If you’re not a baseball fan and you’ve never watched Moneyball because of that, here’s a great piece of news: it’s not really a baseball film; it’s a film about economics. Wait. No. That doesn’t make it sound more exciting. Moneyball by Michael Lewis is a book that changed the way baseball is viewed by fans and baseball personnel. It attempted to explain how the Oakland A’s, a team with a payroll a fraction of the size of, say, the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers, is consistently in contention for a spot in the World Series. The answer is: they don’t sign players or people; they sign numbers.
The Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane became the disciple of a formula that looks for players who simply get on base. Getting on base produces runs; runs produce wins. Moneyball is the story of his crusade to change how baseball is run, and only Michael Lewis, who is the best writer on economic matters to people who have no understanding of economics (hi), and Aaron Sorkin, who can make any subject compelling and fun, could have put together a movie version of that crusade that is riveting. It’s one of Brad Pitt’s best performances, as Beane fighting the entirety of the A’s to make his vision work, and one of the film’s best scenes comes before things start to click and he stumbles upon an upbeat locker room after another loss that Beane knows he’s going to have to answer for to everyone.
I love that scene. It showcases exactly who Beane is as he’s trying to create a winning team and to see a few bad eggs not give a shit about the game is an example of how much he gives a fuck about the game knowing that he has very little resources to work with.
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And, as those of us who love the film know, dancing boy there was soon traded the heck out of Oakland lol. Thanks for the comment!
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Exactly. What happened to Giambi?
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Out of baseball by 2003.
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So essentially, he was a bum?
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Yes. A dancing bum.
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I think that’s kind of an insult to people who can dance such as the Philadelphia Eagles who prove to be very entertaining. Plus, Giambi can’t dance for shit. So he’s just a fuckin’ bum.
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Phillies traded him to the Red Sox and that was his last stop.
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I watch this movie every opportunity I get. I’m a huge baseball fan, but as you pointed out, it is a revelation in baseball uncovered by Pitt’s character which changed it all. We learn it isn’t the home run guys that you pay all the big bucks for that make the best hires. It’s the guys who consistently get on base with no fanfare. The ones you can hire for a lot less money when you don’t have the ability to “run with the big dogs.” But the movie is provided some real depth with Beane’s personal relationship with his daughter. She adds the flavor that pulls in those that never watch baseball. She teaches her father to believe in himself more than he does. She teaches him to hope, dream and not give up. The character Beane hires to change the way the team administration sees how to hire by the numbers is humble and believable because he loves what he does. I’m babbling here but I love this movie so much. Brad was good in it, too.
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What she said.
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Pitt was excellent in the film, but if Beane was the prophet of Moneyball, he wasn’t its discoverer. Jonah Hill’s character is supposed to represent John DePodesta, who went on to become the fifth youngest GM in baseball history when he took over the Dodgers because of his work with Beane. He now is in the front office for the Cleveland Browns, so apparently Moneyball doesn’t work as well for football. At any rate, the film is fantastic and an example of how well Aaron Sorkin can take complex subjects and make them extraordinarily entertaining. It also is a very non-glamorous, heartfelt performance from Pitt and a wonderful performance from Hill. I think I like your overview of the film better than mine, Phyllis, dangit!
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lol…..Well, if he works for the Browns, he must be sleeping on the job these days or eating too many donuts causing diabetic coma. They really , really sucked this year. Oh, I’m not trying to take your job. I’m just really passionate about baseball. You can ask my 3 toy poodles. I scare the poop out of them when I’m watching the Texas Ranger games. We’re just a little over 90 days until all my nights are filled with popcorn and baseball.
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I love baseball too. I’m not sure how DePodesta ended up in the NFL, but at least he has the Number One pick.
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Btw the reason Hill’s character has a different name the DePodesta is that DePodesta had a problem with how the book was being translated into a film and denied them access to use his name, though they pretty much used everything but.
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I love this movie! And you’re right, this is a great scene. I remember going to see this movie in theatres, not knowing much about it, thinking it would just be another baseball feel- good movie. But boy was I wrong! This movie is about so much more, and it’s become one of my favourite movies.
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Exactly! Thanks so much gor the comment!
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I also liked this movie more than i expected, and for most of the reasons stated above. I’m not even a baseball fan and I liked it.
And fun fact; one of my mom’s friend’s husband is in this movie and even has a speaking part. But she didn’t get to meet Brad Pitt, which just doesn’t seem fair, haha.
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WOW! How cool! And, yeah, to be in the movie and not get to meet Pitt would be a huge bummer, but I’m glad you liked it.
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Yep! And her husband even had a speaking part (with Brad Pitt) and she still didn’t get to meet him.
But this movie was definitely better than I expected it to be.
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