'Moneyball' is a home run.
I'll admit it—I was skeptical about the idea of a Moneyball film adaptation. When I first heard about the idea, I think I mockingly dubbed it "On Base Percentage: The Movie." Sure, Michael Lewis' 2003 bestseller—about Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and how he used proprietary statistical analysis to overcome a miniscule team payroll—is a great and important book that tells a fascinating story. Cinematic, however, is not a word that comes to mind. The Social Network proved that a movie about data-crunching and business strategy could be exciting, and Moneyball continues the tradition while updating it to baseball. It's not perfect—there are pacing issues, and it probably should have been about 15 minutes shorter—but Moneyball…
Ted Taylor releases his third book on the Philadelphia Athletics; this time it features outfielder Al Simmons.
The Philadelphia Athletics may have left the city in 1954, but that does not stop people in the area from remembering them fondly. Ted Taylor, a professor at Chestnut Hill College, released his third book on the Philadelphia A’s, called “The Duke of Milwaukee -The Life and Times of Al Simmons Baseball’s Forgotten Superstar,” last week. The book chronicles the life of Hall of Fame outfielder Al Simmons. Simmons was a star of the Philadelphia Athletics in the late 1920s and early ’30s. This period included an amazing three-year run from 1929 to 1931 where the A’s managed to play in three World Series, winning two of them. Simmons was a critical part of this team. He was a clutch hitter, winning batting titles in 1930 and 1931, and he was …
40.17737
-75.10615
/articles/for-a-local-writer-the-philadelphia-as-never-left-town
/locations/3497848
Ruth Z. Deming
6:20 am on Thursday, February 24, 2011
interesting story! readers may be interested in visiting the philadelphia athletics historical society on york road in hatboro. loads of memorabilia about the a's and other philly teams. more ›