Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Moneyball’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​I think we often forget, especially when it comes to sports, just how much goes on behind the scenes to make wonders happen for fans around the world. Because in reality, we only see the finished product when it comes to any particular sport since we are privy to the game day broadcast and nothing more, and much of what we feel or believe about our favorite teams is grounded in what happens on the field over anything else. But the fact of the matter is, so much happens behind closed doors when it comes to the teams whose colors we proudly wear in front of the television or at the stadium when we root for them to win and win big.
 
Because there are hundreds of employees that handle so much before and after game day, and these are the people that are responsible for making sure the heroes on the field have everything they need, or are responsible for putting them there in the first place, and speaking of those people, the decision makers, those are the guys and gals who have it rougher than say the quarterback who had a bad game. For if things don’t go well, there is plenty of pressure and heat from the hardcore fans. But their stories are rarely known, for it’s what happens on the field that matters most. But once in a while, the opportunity arises to tell their tales and share in their day to day struggles, and one such film that does a fine job of providing us with a taste of all that is 2011’s, Moneyball.
 
Now this is a movie that is grounded in reality since it takes us back in time to 2002, wherein we are introduced to Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics and Billy, has quite a problem on his hands. Because his team is what is known as a small market team, and they simply don’t have the money to retain top tier talent year in and year out. But Billy, wants to find a way to make this team competitive and great on the field and thanks to a chance encounter with a man named Peter Brand, Billy finally gets his shot at greatness. Because Peter has a grand plan in mind for baseball, by way of a grand statistical analysis known as Sabermetrics and he believes that stats can get Billy and the A’s players that will produce wonders at a fraction of the price the team normally pays and with nothing to lose, Billy takes a gamble on Peter’s plan in the hopes of finally bringing home a World Series Championship to the city of Oakland.
 
So, I made mention of the fact that this movie is grounded in reality, and that’s no joke. Billy Beane is real, and while he is now the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the A’s, he really was the GM back in ’02 and was one of the pioneers of Sabermetrics in Major League Baseball, since it is widely used today, and well, it’s quite cool to know you’re learning a bit of baseball history when watching this film, but if offers up so much more. For Moneyball really does dive deep into the passion and the resolve of the people who work behind the scenes to try and put together the best team imaginable for the fans, and the roadblocks and joy they find along the way when it comes to that process and that makes for a compelling story when all is said and done. Because you truly want to see Billy and Peter succeed in their quest to win a title and you also want to see their new line of thinking work since the movie does such a fine job of establishing the status quo of baseball and how people in the sport at the time were unwilling to embrace a new idea.
 
Yet while all of this is fascinating in its own right, in many ways it seems as though this film is only for diehard fans of baseball since we spend more time in Billy’s office than on the field and thankfully that’s not the case. Because everything baseball wise here is accessible and explained to the audience in simple fashion so that the casual movie goer and non-baseball fan can understand what is going on with ease and well, for the hardcore fans, this is just a treat  through and through and really, this is a movie that is definitely worth your while if you haven’t seen it before. Because not only does it offer up a lovely re-telling of a pivotal point in baseball’s storied history, it also provides us with a great human interest story, and it features phenomenal performances and it’s just a great ride through and through, one that gives everyone a new found appreciation for the men and women who are working late into the night to give the fans the glory we so appreciate.   

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