Moneyball is a 2011 sports drama that tells the improbable true story of the 2002 Oakland A’s baseball team. Featuring a screenplay co-written by Aaron Sorkin based on the non-fiction book by Michael Lewis, the film masterfully transforms what could have been a dry, technical subject into a compelling and emotional narrative.
The plot follows Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. With one of the smallest budgets in Major League Baseball, he faces the daunting task of building a winning team after losing his star players to more affluent clubs.
Rejecting the traditional scouting methods, he teams up with Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a Yale economics graduate.
Together, they employ a revolutionary, data-driven approach known as sabermetrics to evaluate players.
This method, based on statistical analysis, prioritizes undervalued metrics like on-base percentage over more traditional ones like batting average and stolen bases.
Their unconventional strategy is met with skepticism and resistance from both scouts and coaches, but as the A’s start a historic winning streak, their methods begin to change the game forever.
Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as A’s manager Art Howe
Robin Wright stands out as Beane’s ex-wife, Sharon Beane.
Chris Pratt plays Scott Hatteberg, one of the players acquired by Beane based on analytics.
Stephen Bishop, Brent Jennings, Reed Diamond, Ken Medlock, Arliss Howard and Nick Searcy round out the supporting cast.
It’s a film about more than just baseball; it’s about challenging conventional wisdom and finding value where others fail to see it.
The film received six Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing.
Brad Pitt in Moneyball (Photo/Columbia Pictures)
Reception for Moneyball
Moneyball grossed $19.5 million on its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office.
The film would gross $110.2 million in its theatrical run.
Roger Ebert gave Moneyball four out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
Moneyball‘s legacy is significant and far-reaching. It brought the obscure field of sabermetrics into the mainstream, proving that statistics and data analysis could be a powerful tool in sports management.
The film’s influence extended beyond baseball, inspiring organizations in various fields to reconsider their traditional methods and embrace data-driven decision-making and is often credited with accelerating the adoption of analytics in professional sports.
The film’s success is a testament to its compelling story, the powerful and nuanced performances from Pitt and Hill, and its ability to make a seemingly dry topic feel dramatic and accessible. It’s a modern classic that changed how we think about the business of sports and cemented its place as a cornerstone of the modern sports film genre.
