The Silver Screen
Sabermetrics Hit the Screen, Successfully, in ‘Moneyball’
'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…
