Moneyball

Image of the Oakland Athletics team logo.  Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Baseball statistics,
unlike the statistics
in any other area,
have acquired the
powers of language.

Bill James
1985 Baseball Abstract

Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, had a major problem.  Actually, he had many major problems.

His team had a very successful 2001, winning 102 games, but they'd lost three free-agent players.  Beane had to replace them, for the 2002 season, but didn’t have enough money to get "the best" guys.  

Billy worked for one of the "poor teams," not one of the "rich teams" - like the New York Yankees - so he had limited funds.  His funds were so limited that he had to build an entire team with a budget most rich teams could spend on a single player.

Then Billy Beane had a series of talks with Paul DePodesta (called Peter Brand in the film).  The young Harvard grad, who majored in economics, had some ideas how the A's could build a great team with undervalued players.  Beane promoted DePodesta to assistant general manager.

Three months later, despite a bumbling start, the A's winning streak seemed unstoppable.  Had Billy Beane implemented a new way to build a Major-League Baseball team?

ISSUES and QUESTIONS to PONDER:  When faced with a sudden cut in funds, Billy Beane had to deal with a much-lower budget.  Instead of panicking, he needs to find a way to handle this unexpected problem.  Does this new reality cripple his thinking - or - does it inspire him to find a different (but still workable) way?

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For This Story

Author: Carole D. Bos, J.D.

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Original Release Date:  September, 2011
Updated Monthly

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