The Story Behind The Oakland A's...Is Moneyball true?
American cinema has told the story of America's love affair with baseball many times.The movie that surpasses all others in imagination, scale and more is Moneyball.
Baseball legend Yogi Berra once said that baseball is 80% mental and 20% physical.Moneyball is a parable at its core.The story of convention versus innovation is told through the lens of sport.Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, sets out to bring 21st-century ideas to the baseball mound.
The story of the A's and how it circumvents is told in 'Moneyball', starring Brad Pitt as Beane and Jonah Hill as Peter Brand.In Moneyball's baseball, data becomes the new intuition and sport meets statistics to produce new and novel gameplay.
The A's are facing a loss.With a menial budget and a dwindling number of top players, the A's and Beane are close to staring defeat in the face for yet another baseball season.
Enter Peter Brand.The brand inducts Beane into the creed of sabermetrics.Baseball records can be used to help scout potential players.sabermetrics is fairly simple for 'Moneyball'.While individual star players can bring a match home, a combination of talents with each player playing their own part is more valuable.Small teams can odds in favor of bigger teams by investing in overvalued resources.
With the use of sabermetrics, Beane and Brand change the fate of the A's and the sport of baseball forever.The A's went from losing the first 11 games of the season to a record-breaking 20-game winning streak.
The story of Moneyball is based on a true story.Bennett Miller is the director of the movie, which is based on the book by Michael Lewis.The movie walks a fine line between fact and fiction according to critics.How much does Moneyball dramatize real-life events?Let us find out.
The Moneyball theory is a perfect metaphor for Beane's life story.After being labeled a washout athlete, Beane's playing career prospects looked less than promising.He turned to a career in team management after being overlooked by his sport.This is portrayed in perfect harmony in the film.The lines between real and reel get blurry.
When 'Moneyball' needed an adversary or two to Pitt's hero, Beane is shown clashing with colleagues skeptical of the sabermetric methods he swears by.The A's scouting director and manager are made out to be the bad guys in the movie.A different story is told by reality.
Fuson is fired by Beane after the latter questions his approach to scouting.Fuson had left the team to take a position with the Texas Rangers.Howe was portrayed as hostile to Beane's ideas and set in his ways.In an interview with Mad Dog Radio, Howe expressed his displeasure about his portrayal, saying, "It is very disappointing to know that you spent seven years in an organization and gave your heart and soul to it and helped them go to the postseason your last three years there and win."