The side of sports that everyone sees is the physical side: a football player throws a ball, another player catches it, he runs for a touchdown. This gets their team six points, and the kicker kicks the ball through the uprights for an extra point. However, very few people pay attention to the underlying numbers behind the players, unless they play Fantasy Football. The quarterback just completed his sixth pass out of seven attempts. The receiver just caught his first ball of the game. The touchdown pass was number 50 in the quarterback's career. The extra point was the first time the kicker had ever seen an NFL level field. It is important to look at the numbers and the narrative, otherwise you could miss something great, and Billy Beane saw something great in the 2002 season of the Oakland Athletics.
"Moneyball" is one of my favorite movies, since it looks into a sport that I love while also telling a very compelling story about both sports and the people behind the numbers and positions on the field. In the movie, Brad Pitt plays the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, Billy Beane, as he tries to find a way for his low market team to get good enough to make a run for the World Series. He does this through the help of analyst and statistician Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, by looking for overlooked and underrated players that they can get for a much lower cost. With this team of overlooked players, they make league history by winning 20 straight games and winning over 100 games in the season, which is a fantastic season by MLB standards. The movie focuses on the things that make the players great despite their shortcomings, such as age, nerve damage in one arm, or an unconventional pitching motion. Even if you do not have any interest in baseball or sports in general, "Moneyball" is still a great watch for anyone interested in an inspirational story.
Source: Moneyball (IMDb)
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