The Academy Award nominations were announced today, and "Moneyball," the movie based on the behind-the-scenes book about the Oakland A's, has been nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture.
Michael Lewis' book came out in 2003, and thanks to Brad Pitt and Company, it may now be the most important baseball book ever, even surpassing Jim Bouton's ground-breaking "Ball Four" which was released in 1970.
"Moneyball" has helped popularize a growing trend in baseball. While the gap in baseball is widening between the haves and the have-nots. Some teams outside of New York, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles have chosen a sling and a rock rather than accept their fate as second-class citizens in an Evil Empire.
But considering the popularity of the book and the movie, it is still a highly misunderstood book. And nearly a decade after its release, several myths still linger.
Myth: Billy Beane Invented "Moneyball"
Sabermetrics is the term for advanced baseball stats that attempts to derive empirical and objective answers to complex baseball questions. Through the use of Sabermetrics one can get a better sense of which players have performed the best, which players are more likely to get better, which players are likely to regress, and the players that are more likely to maintain their current level of play.
And if a general manager is able to identify these trends, they are better suited to find players that will help their team win without having to spend a lot of money. In other words, Sabermetrics is a form of "Moneyball." And Sabermetrics was invented long before Billy Beane was running the A's.
Sabermetrics was a form of baseball statistics that was pioneered by many people. But the most famous voice early on was Bill James.
Myth: The "Moneyball" System Is About Players With Strong OBPs
This is the biggest myth that still lingers today. At the time the book was being written, it just so happened that players with a strong affinity for getting on base (high OBP) were overlooked by most teams. Teams were more focused on players with high batting averages and lots of power. Few teams cared about a player that drew a lot of walks.
Of course, now every team values a player that gets on base. And as a result, players with high OBPs make a lot more money and are no longer undervalued. But that doesn't mean "Moneyball" is dead.
Instead of looking for a player with a high OBP, maybe Beane and other teams are looking for players that play great defense. Or maybe they are looking for players that never get caught stealing. Or maybe they are looking for relief pitchers that can work more than one inning.
It doesn't matter what the type of player is. What is important is that those players have a certain amount of value that may not be recognized by most other teams.
Myth: "Moneyball" Is A Small-Market Strategy
"Moneyball" is important to small-market teams as a way to level the playing field. But it is not a small-market strategy. In fact, every big league team now has a sabermetrics department. Of course some teams may use that information more or differently, but it is certainly not limited to the low-payroll teams.
In fact, Bill James, one of the fathers of sabermetrics, is now employed by Evil Empire Jr, the Boston Red Sox.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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