Moneyball - Movie Review

“It’s hard not to get romantic about baseball.”

These are the words spoken by Billy Beane, the real life general manager of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, and here played by Brad Pitt. Now whether Mr. Beane actually uttered these words or if they are merely the concoction of screenwriters Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, I’m not sure. But the meaning still holds true.

I’ll admit, I’m not a baseball guy. An ex-girlfriend of mine once hypothesized that there are two types of families in America, football families and baseball families, and rarely do the two overlap. I think she may have a point.

But even a non-baseball guy can’t help but to recognize its power on the silver screen. From Pride of the Yankees to Bull Durham, baseball has provided the backdrop to a plethora of timeless tales. It seems as though nostalgia is just built into the game. So even in a relatively modern story line “Moneyball,” you still feel your mind drifting away to better times in days gone away.

In this case, those days are 2001. Specifically late 2001. A time, which I was reminded by the beautiful but sadly uninterested-in-me woman sitting in the next seat, were not so much better after all. The world was still reeling from the September 11th attacks. And baseball was hardly the most important thing on people’s minds.

Except, of course, in Oakland. After a disappointing finish to the previous season, and a firm realization that a smaller market team like the A’s could never outspend the more well-heeled teams in the league like the New York Yankees, the Oakland team was on a record setting streak of wins. Those wins were not the result of big money signings, but instead the product of a revolutionary system of signing players developed by Beane’s assistant, Peter Brand, played here by a delightfully nebbish Jonah Hill.

The philosophy is simple. Instead of picking players based on star power, physical attributes, and hype, the A’s decided to treat winning like a mathematical equation. They went out and signed a team of castaways based not on their athletic potential, but by the average number of times they scored runs (whether or not the run was a direct result of their skill or not).

The system has its ups and downs. And honestly, I’m not completely sure of the message being sent. I mean if you buy into the Billy Beane system, are you not essentially placing higher value on statistics than human beings? When Houston Texans running back Arian Foster suffered a hamstring injury in the NFL preseason, he was lambasted by fans. Not because they were concerned about his welfare. They were upset because his injury was going to screw up their Fantasy Football pools! Not to say that middle aged men getting to relive their non-existent athletic careers by betting on player statistics can’t be a nice diversion, but I think it’s safe to say we’ve gotten our priorities a little out of whack.

But, of course, ultimately “Moneyball” isn’t about the presumed value of an athletic playbook at all. Instead, it’s a portrait of conflicted man. Still smarting from an athletic career that didn’t quite pan out. Still trying to find meaning in life. Like the players he overseas, he still struggles to understand his own value.

Billy Beane is not exactly a hard luck case. Being born exceedingly athletic, getting to play a few years in the MLB, then having to “settle” for the humiliating post of being one of the most powerful men in baseball is hardly the making of a Dickens’ novel.

But Brad Pitt does an incredible job of bringing an inner sadness to the proceedings. Despite all his success, we get the sense that his defining characteristic is not so much his joy but his sadness. He says himself that he is motivated less by a desire to win, than a hatred (and I’d say fear) of losing. When he stays away from the game to avoid jinxing the team, it is not the action of a notoriously superstitious athlete. It feels more like the action of a man that truly believes himself to be ill fated. Born with charm and ability, but like his playing career, always afraid that in the end he won’t measure up.

“Moneyball” is not your typical sports story. I heard one person refer to it as “The Bad News Bears for CPA’s.” That description isn’t too far off the mark. But the writing is tight. The characters portrayed in earnest. And even if you’re a football guy like me, this is a film worth seeing.