Moneyball - A Review of the Movie
Run - Don't Walk - to this Movie
Great cast.
Well-written and directed script.
Compelling story.
It's about baseball - what more do you need?
I didn't realize until the closing credits that Aaron Sorkin co-wrote the script. I should have seen his fingerprints all over it. Ever see the television show "Sports Night"? If not, buy it on Amazon. It's a sports fan's treat. Only lasted three seasons on a national network when shows like "The Simpsons" were the hits. But that's a topic for another hub.
I'm not going to give you the play-by-play because I don't want to give away too much and spoil the movie for you. Suffice it to say: Billy Bean holds a record in baseball that will never be broken, at least not any time soon.
His team, the 2002 Oakland A's, weren't expected to win anything of note with the team of misfits and cast-offs that made up their roster. Bean came up with a theory based on getting on base - nothing else. Home runs? Who cares. ERA? Couldn't interest him less. Slugging percentage? Only mildly interested.
Beane had been a kid who took $125,000 to sign with the major leagues right out of high school instead of taking a full scholarship to Stanford. When we meet him in the movie he is a 40-something divorced father who ended up as the general manager of a low-budget baseball franchise when his playing days didn't pay off. Realizing he was soon going to have not choice but to "hang them up" forever, he asked to become a scout. He knew enough to know, without a college degree, what other job was he qualified for?
He says in the movie, when he is offered A LOT OF MONEY for a reason I won't tell you because I don't want to spoil this amazing experience for you, he says he promised himself after taking that signing bonus as a high school senior instead of playing baseball for the purpose of getting a higher education that he would never make another decision based on money.
This movie is about the game of baseball today. What it is. How a man named Billy Beane altered the paradigm that is baseball in America. One man. Trying to beat the odds.
Find out if he did. Rent, buy or click to see this movie - as fast as is humanly possible.