Sunday, January 22, 2012

Moneyball (2011)

Before I could determine my level of appreciation for this movie, I really had to think about it. There were two messages that could be taken away from Moneyball. Depending on which message I thought was more prevalent helped shape my critique.

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) has recently been named the general manager of the lowly Oakland Athletics. After a 2001 postseason loss, and the departure of his most valued players, Beane needs to figure out a way to win on a shoestring budget. During a visit in Cleveland, Beane meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). He is a young economics graduate with out-of-the-ordinary ideas on how to judge players' worth. Beane eventfully convinces Brand to spurn the Indians and come work for the A's. Right then, the two start going against traditional baseball scouts and using sabermetrics to figure out which players could help Oakland win in its current system. The largest point of contention was first base. The coach wanted budding star Carlos Pena, but Beane wanted former catcher Scott Hatteberg, who is coming off major surgery. It's obvious who prevails. After a poor start to the season, the A's win a record 20 straight games on their way to a postseason berth.

With Bennett Miller directing, Aaron Sorkin writing and Brad Pitt in the lead, it's hard not to go wrong with this film. However, as I stated earlier, Moneyball could've gone two ways. 1) Traditional baseball wins out and sabermetrics is just as unsure as scouts, or 2) Sabermetrics combined with aging values can make for a winning team. The latter was what I took from this film, and I'm glad I did. As a baseball fan, I don't totally agree with sabermetrics, but I understand its value. There's a place for it in the annals of Major League Baseball, but it won't always determined the best team. While Beane's A's didn't win the World Series that year, the film notes that the 2004 Boston Red Sox used Beane's methods and took home the title. It changed baseball, there's no doubt about that, but it also helped solidify what baseball is in its purest form: a game that any team can win at any time. Grade: A-

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