Each week, I will look at a movie that is currently in theaters or available to stream and give some reasons why people should watch it. This isn’t necessarily a film critique, rather, an overview of what I think is enjoyable about the film, and why it’s worth seeing. This week we’ll be looking at Moneyball starring Brad Pitt.
It’s a story well known in the baseball world, the story of how the Oakland Athletics used
statistics and data to field a good team despite having one of the tightest budgets in the league. The A’s essentially started a revolution in baseball with advanced statistics that are being used more and more by teams looking to gain an advantage, and the A’s story is told here, in the movie Moneyball. Brad Pitt plays the A’s general manager Billy Beane who spearheads the movement. The movie does a really good job of making potentially boring material (not everyone loves stats) and explaining it in a clear way so that everyone can understand the problems the team faced, and how their statistical way of doing things could work. The movie really functions the way any story of overcoming adversity does. You have the typical doubters and naysayers that make it hard to stay on the path for doing something you believe in. Then you have those who believe in the cause gain enough momentum to be given the chance to execute their vision, followed by the moment or moments of truth that will validate the movement. This movie might have sports as the source material, but anyone can appreciate the age-old challenge of trying to enlist a change you believe in, having doubters, but making the changes necessary no matter the outside noise. It’s why this movie works perfectly in its retelling of the story, it’s why this true story changed the game of baseball, and it’s why you no longer need big time money to play big time baseball.
Moneyball is available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.
