Moneyball: The Ultimate Fantasy Baseball Movie

by BallparkBob It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life. — Mickey Mantle MONEYBALL: Sabermetrics favorite Scott Hatteberg hits a dramatic home run in 2002 for the A's 20th consecutive win. Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, is the movie version of Michael Lewis’ best selling book depicting Beane and the 2002 over-achieving Athletics. The movie begins with the A’s blowing a 2-0 game lead in the ALDS (not the World Series as Roger Ebert said in his movie review) against the Yankees as the Bronx Bombers come back to win 3 straight to oust Oakland.  The 2001 A’s were the best wild card entry in the history of baseball, finishing with 102 wins, but a mere 14 games behind a phenomenal Mariners team.  The A’s near win is amazing in that its less than $40 million team salary is 1/3 that of the Yankees’ payroll. To begin the 2002...