"Moneyball" by Michael Lewis

An essay-like review of the nonfiction, sports-drama tale behind the mastermind who is Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletic's major league baseball organization.

The book cover called my name for about two years before my hands decided to actually pick up, open the pages, and let my mind do the rest. 

And this was all before I even learned there was a book with the same name. Somehow, I came across the film that was adapted from Michael Lewis' story. I don't remember, exactly; thus, I cannot say where and when. But, I do remember that when I saw it, I was entranced by what unfolded on the screen. It wasn't necessarily Brad Pitt's playing of Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane. It wasn't exactly Jonah Hill's version of Peter Brand, fictionally changed in name by the writers from the guy he meant to be, Paul DePodesta. Nor was it the clever ingenuity of Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Art Howe.

No.

It was the story of an underdog attempting to defy all perceived expectations and standards, noted thinking and age-old wisdom using only numbers and hard, concrete evidence suggesting what will happen versus the hypothetical of what could be possible.

Let me get one thing out in the open, folks. This was a 300-page book. Each page was filled with words. Each was filled with some indication of heavy research, noted ideas and ideas that were delivered in the most "ah-ha" feeling way. There were 0 pictures. There were only some graphics included to stress certain points easier to the reader for those who, presumably, had no previously knowledge of the context and ideals driving the damn thing. 

There were 300 pages of facts. 300 pages of thought-provoking numbers, revelations and insights that could only come from taking the time to find out what was really going on. 

On that note, the 2000-2002 Oakland Athletics were up against the rest of Major League Baseball for a while. They had a budget of, roughly, just under 50 million. The New York Yankees, alone, had around 120 million. The text noted it around 47 and 118, with one team out-competing the other by three times. Knowing he didn't have the money to spend on players most major league teams wanted on their rosters, Beane had to use his wit, his instincts and intuition, and the developed genius of his Assistant GM to outplay the teams whom could afford to buy and sell players as they saw fit. 

From players like David Justice and Scott Hatteberg to Jeremy Giambi, Moneyball chronicled the humble beginnings of a team just after losing three "star" major league players, Jason Giambi, Mike Isringhausen, Carlos Pena, and Johnny Damon because they could not pay those player's the salaries they, much less their agents, demanded for their services that other teams could. Without them, the Oakland A's would be doomed. That is, they were losing three key players everyone presumed they could not win games without. Or, if they did, they would have a much more difficult time doing so. Knowing he couldn't rely on big name players on such a convenient level, Beane and DePodesta found the attributes needed to get the players that could win games versus the ones scouts and other GM's wanted. They used the players' statistics to find ways to "beat the odds" and win in spite of losing start athletes in the game. And I, for one, respected that, once I understood how their tactics worked, how the managers and staff employed those tactics to a disciplined hilt and how using those numbers resulted in predicted outcomes in real numbers. In other words, using numbers alone, not the hype and fame, appeal, and fortune of big league players everyone wanted to see, the Oakland Athletic's were able to stick a gameplan so set in stone that, if followed precisely, would gaurantee victories.

In more current athletic trends, it's like the Houston Texans losing J.J. Watt, the NFL's #1 ranked player based on skill and experience, etc., because the Texans could no longer pay his 5-yr/$100 million base salary because their Owner tells the General Manager, not the Head Coach, much less fans, that he doesn't have "that kind of money" needed to pay for the player Watt is, insane marketability, athleticism and all. That hypothetical being said, if the Texans lost Watt, in the next few moments, Moneyball would be the same as Coach O'Brien and the rest of the General Manager's staff scouting for the guy to replace Watt using only the money they have allowed in their salary cap to offer his replacement. Only, the GM, O'Brien and the rest of the crew would use Defensive players' statistics and experienced results to find out which guy would be best to replace the NFL's #1 ranked star.

Yeah. Tough spot.

Imagine J.J. Watt's replacement coming in on a far less luxurious sounding contract offer, only for fans to see, once he's on the field, that he produces the same types of results that Watt did without costing so much money. That's what would be going on.

Anyway, back to Moneyball. There were several points of interest brought up. Bill James, for one, was notably mentioned throughout the book as the originator of Billy Beane's genius. His intellect, which brought about the Baseball Abstract series of manuals on analyzing player's game statistics, was the backbone, the real backbone, that created the Oakland A's team that saw Scott Hatteberg more fully train himself to wait for "good" pitches and, eventually, the walk-off home run that saw the A's win a MLB record 20 consecutive games without a loss...something that defied everything "baseball people" knew about the game. More remarkable was the sheer amount of confidence involved in framing the team. A lot of numbers were compiled, crunched and implemented in order to outfit the players that didn't look like Major League All-Star's but played like them. 

Several insights into player negotiation, salary decisions made and not made, cuts to players left and right deemed "unworthy" of playing in the major leagues and a chronicled history as to why Billy Beane went from almost-unknown, prodigious-like talent to quitting the game altogether in order to pursue his real interest in developing the true nature of the players that played the game were all apart of lengthy paragraphs and excerpts. 

Each part (player) that made the team whole was covered in its own specific, detailed and constructive fashion that allowed the reader to comprehensively and more fully understand the mechanics of the game and how decisions were made, each one ultimately affecting outcomes that resulted in games won or lost. 

For me, though, was the way Lewis narrated each fable to the whole. The language, though difficult and downright confusing at times, was constructed in ways that allowed for even the most non-baseball driven fan to attempt to understand what was being discussed as it was brought to attention. Yes, there were a lot of names, a lot of numbers, and years and concepts to jot down into memory. However, each was presented in context and made clear as it, and their, context and how they played their part. This was done to eliminate any building sense of confusion and provide overall clarity. After all, Michael Lewis was writing about the poorest Major League Baseball team around, their steadfast and determined leader, and the ways in which he did what he did. What could be seen as "oh, that's simple to understand" was actually interpreted to be a massive project. Because, in the real world of the real team it was depicting, it was massive.

So, people, I know I enjoyed reading the book, after having seen the film at least a few times. It provided insight, humor and wit and a deep understanding of knowledge beyond what a nightly ESPN Baseball Tonight program was able to provide, in certain aspects. It also provided a lengthy, healthy and meaningful mental workout that capped off a few years of waiting for the ideal time to read a book worth reading. It made me wish I was reading it while in Graduate School, absorbing new information like a sponge. Pick it up and read it for yourself, I get the feeling you will to.