Moneyball+Movie

The story beginsbefore the 2002 MLB season shortly after theOakland Athletics (who were a poor team) lost three of their best players because they did not have enough money to resign them. These players were outfielder Johnny Damon, first-baseman Jason Giambi, and pitcher Jason Isringhausen. General Manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) teamed up with with Paul Depodesta (played by Johah Hill) to create a winning team with the little amount of money that they had. The character portraying Depodesta was renamed Peter Brand. "The role was previously going to be given DePodesta's name and to be played by Demetri Martin, but DePodesta did not want his name or likeness to be used in the movie; [...] the character is not an accurate representation of any specific real-life person." (Wikipedia) They began to search for players that had outstanding sabermetrics that showed a hidden value. Early in the season they were not playing well. Most people began to think that they had given up when the traded Jeremy Giambi and rookie (and all-star) Carlos Pena. Then they began to win. They tied the MLB record with a 20 game win streak and went all the way to the playoffs.

Immediately after the season that many people thought Billy Beane would lose his job early in the season, he was offered to be the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. This offer would have made him the highest payed general manager in MLB history. Beane turned down the offer to go back to Oakland. The Red Sox hired somebody else that used the same moneyball strategy that Billy Beane was so successful with. Two years later, the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The moneyball strategy was brought into the spotlight by this movie and is becoming a huge movement in the MLB. "Billy Beane is still trying to win the last game of the season in Oakland." (Moneyball)

media type="file" key="Moneyball Meeting Scene Cut Up.mov" width="489" height="489" align="left"This scene from //Moneyball// explains and shows Billy Beane's approach to things and how many people including his employees doubted him. There was a tradition in baseball that had never been broken of scouts and experts were the ones that decided the value of players. When Billy Beane brought a different approach very few people agreed with him. Billy Beane was a nonconformist in this way.

Sources: "Extra Large Movie Poster Image - Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery."//Moneyball: Extra Large Movie Poster Image - Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

//Moneyball//. Dir. Bennett Miller. Perf. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Universal, 2011. DVD.

Wikipedia Contributors. "Moneyball (film)." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.