Moneyball destined to become a classic

Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, is very different from Field of Dreams and The Natural, but should still stand alongside them. (Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Michael Lewis’s book was excellent, but I had low expectations for Moneyball the movie. Was I ever in for a pleasant surprise. Who would have thought a movie about statistics could be so exciting?

The tremendous film told a moving true story about how a General Manager built an unlikely contender with perceived misfits and people below him saying, ‘It won’t work.’ The acting was excellent, the script was superb, the emotion was captivating, and the memories of a crazy idea and the 2002 Oakland Athletics were brought back to life.

In the film, Brad Pitt, playing A’s unique General Manager Billy Beane, says what is accomplished during the regular season will be forgotten if the last game they play is lost. Even with a $37 million payroll, former stars, and inexperienced youth, that 2002 team had as many wins as the $114 million Yankees.

The remarkable season is and will continue to be remembered, even though the last game wasn’t won. The film will be remembered, too.

Moneyball, produced by Pitt and written in part by Sports Night‘s Aaron Sorkin, was very witty. Jonah Hill, playing Assistant GM Paul DePodesta but named Peter Brand due to legal reasons, had a significant hand in the constant laughter. His on-screen relationship with Pitt was humorous from the start.

Though the film didn’t focus on all that was important about Lewis’s book, it definitely worked as it was done. Beane’s brilliant idea was relayed in a well-paced and tightly knit manner.

Chris Pratt, who played Scott Hatteberg, and Stephen Bishop, who played David Justice, did an extraordinary job as A’s players at the opposite ends of the spectrum–one young and trying to play a new position and another nearing the end of the road, buying into an idea and setting aside his ego.

The film documented the games within the game–the forced thriftiness, the superstitions, the harsh realities, the successes, the ups-and-downs, the mindsets, the personal growth, the transformations, and the belief necessary to win. It was clear the people behind Moneyball knew baseball and had done their homework on how everything works–how a front office is run, how players are moved, and how the club’s personnel connect and clash.

Moneyball was about the economics of the game, yet it also exemplified why baseball is a significant part of my life. It spoke to the kid in me–the kid who played Kidsports wearing his Dad’s baggy old uniform with high red socks, with the wildest dreams of becoming a professional ballplayer.

Everything was so well done, so real, so heartfelt, so engaging. Even Mike Sweeney’s batting stance was impersonated well.

I felt like I was in the stands. I was in 2002 all over again, the wide-eyed 12-year-old who soaked in all he could, following the A’s as he did every team. And now, the desire is there to root for Beane’s current A’s.

Beane proved, and is still proving, that money isn’t everything, and that success considered far-fetched by some is possible. Moneyball hit a home-run in many respects, but especially in bringing these ideas to the screen.

Moneyball deserves to be The Natural and Field of Dreams‘ company. It is very different from the other two, but is certainly on their level. The 133-minute masterpiece is a must-see.