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Sarah Blank
April 2015
Moneyball
Moneyball was released in 2011 and is based on the Oakland Athletics’ 2002
baseball season. The film opens with the A’s playing the Yankees in the elimination
game of the American League Division Series in 2001. It is revealed to the audience the
huge difference in finances between
the teams, with the Yankees being
worth $114,457,768 and the A’s
being worth $39,722,689. The A’s
end up losing the elimination game
and— as if that weren’t enough—
are losing their three best players:
Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and
Jason Isringhausen. The rest of the
film is framed around finding the
best players possible for the team’s
low budget. General Manager of the
Athletics’, Billy Beane, is desperate
to figure out a way to make a
winning team under their unfortunate
circumstances. In the midst of a
meeting to make a player trade, Billy
meets young Yale graduate and
mathematician Peter Brand. Billy is
so intrigued with Peter’s different
way of assessing player’s values that
he hires him to be his Assistant
General Manager. Peter finds
seemingly undesirable players and
presents them to Billy, ensuring that
their on-base percentages alone are
reason enough to hire them. Billy
takes the risk of putting his trust in
Peter and embraces this outrageous
new method to an old American
pastime. The film has dark and sad moments, but it also has humorous and uplifting
moments. No matter the feeling it gives you, each moment is nothing short of inspiring.
Moneyball is filled with ups and downs, keeping the audience interested in finding out
what will come of this underdog team.
One of the most memorable scenes in Moneyball is towards the end of the film.
Billy Beane is talking with Peter Brand about the possibility of becoming the General
Manager of the Red Sox. Each shot is a medium shot, showing either Billy or Peter from
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their chest up when each of them speaks. Billy is expressing how badly he wanted to win
in Oakland and Peter is trying to convince him that he did win. He states that he did in
fact lose (seeing as how the A’s didn’t even go to the world series or anything) and that
he’ll never get over such a loss. But Peter knows all that Billy has accomplished. His
team did more than anyone could have ever imagined (spoiler alert!) by winning those
twenty games in a row. Peter makes Billy follow him to the film room. We see Billy
shaking his head, then Peter walking past him while insisting he follows. The next shot is
film footage of the Oak’s 240-pound catcher Jeremy Brown. Peter’s voice is explaining
who the player is as the film plays. The shot then moves to Billy looking confused as
Peter reminds him that the large catcher is known for being scared to run to second base.
The footage plays again and Peter narrates as a fastball is thrown to Jeremy. Jeremy
connects with the ball and runs as fast as he can to first base. Peter pauses the footage
and the shot is now on him. He states that Jeremy is about to do something he never
does: “He’s going to go for it.” The shot moves to the footage again and we see Jeremy
rounding first, only to fall to the ground a couple of steps later. As he crawls back to
first, Peter narrates, “This is all of Jeremy’s nightmares coming to life.” A close-up of
Billy’s profile is now on screen as he squints at what he is watching. Billy is covering his
mouth with his hand and looks sympathetic as he points out that people on the film are
laughing at the player for falling. Quickly, the shot moves back to Peter as he corrects
Billy in why exactly they’re all laughing. The footage shows the first-base coach waving
for Jeremy to get up and keep going. Peter pauses the film again and it is silent for a
couple of seconds. The shot moves to Billy, now facing the camera, waiting for Peter’s
explanation. The camera is back on Peter as he smiles and says, “Jeremy is about to
realize that the ball went 60 feet over the fence. He hit a homerun and didn’t even realize
it.” The next shot shows the dumbfounded look on Billy’s face. We then see the footage
playing again, as Billy watches silently. The shot is on Billy’s shocked profile reaching
to hit rewind, then cuts back to the footage as it replays in slow, fast, and then regular
motion. There is a close-up of Billy leaning back in his chair with a smirk on his face.
Billy questions if it’s possible to not be romantic about baseball. A medium shot is then
on Peter as he clarifies that he was using this as a metaphor. Billy knows that, though,
and the shot follows Billy as he stands and begins to leave the film room noticeably
happier than when he entered. He pauses before heading out the door to tell Peter that
he’ll call him. This clip is important because it shows both Billy and Peter’s character.
Peter needs Billy to know that he made a difference to not only the Oakland A’s, but also
to baseball in general. Peter needs him to realize that, even if Billy himself can’t realize
it right away. And Billy is always too hard on himself, without ever being able to notice
all the great that he’s done. Peter’s approach seems to work, as the footage clearly makes
Billy think about how it relates to his situation. A good portion of the clip I’ve described
can be found with at link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn7C6jgl0RI.
Many overlook the historical context this film depicts—I myself didn’t even
know about it until I saw Moneyball. In 2002, the Oakland Athletics broke the American
League record of most consecutive wins. In the ’01-’02 offseason, the A’s lost three key
players, leaving them with huge holes in their roster. General Manager Billy Beane
decided to fill these holes with players who were known for their hitting ability and onbase percentages; rather than looking for all-around great players, like the ones they lost.
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Early in the 2002 season, the A’s had a decent start with a record of 15-10 (15 wins and
10 losses). They then went through a bit of a slump, resulting in a record of 20-26.
However, their slump ended there. They went on to win 16 consecutive games until a
loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 12. On August 13, the A’s were victorious again
and beat the Jays five runs to four—this being the start to their streak. For the next few
weeks, the A’s were pitching, hitting, and playing defense like they had never before.
Wins 18 and 19 were due to walk-off homeruns by Miguel Tejada. On September 4, the
A’s attempted their 20th consecutive win in a game against the Kansas City Royals.
Winning this game would result in breaking the 1947 New York Yankees’ record of 19
consecutive wins. The A’s scored 11 runs in the first three innings and gave nothing
back to the Royals. In the fourth inning, the A’s gave up 5 runs without scoring
themselves. Then in the eighth inning, they gave up another 5 runs. At the top of the
ninth, the Royals tied it up 11-11. In the bottom of the ninth, the A’s put in pinch hitter
Scott Hatteberg. And Hatteberg saved the day, hitting a walk-off homerun for the win
and the 20-game streak record. People seem to forget about this record-breaking moment
in history, likely due to the A’s inability to pull through in the postseason. The A’s
finished the season with a record of 103 wins and 59 losses. The Oakland Athletics
didn’t make it to the World Series, but they broke records that no one could have
dreamed they’d break. That in itself makes their 2002 comeback season unforgettable.
Peter Brand is
played by the actor Jonah
Hill. Hill has been a wellknown comedic actor since
2006. He’s been the comic
relief in movies such as
Accepted, Knocked Up, and
This is the End and had a
lead role in Superbad, Get
Him to the Greek, and both
21 and 22 Jump Street.
With these gut-busting
comedies under his belt, he
shocked audiences
everywhere with his
dramatic role in Moneyball. Hill is usually cast as the overweight, sidekick type who
makes fun of himself through sarcasm and “big” comedy. While he was technically
Billy’s sidekick in the sense that he was his assistant manager, it was a different kind than
he normally portrays. Billy and Peter work together to stray from the normal ways of
forming a baseball team. Billy never would have even come up with his strange strategy
if not for Peter teaching it to him. Peter is a Yale graduate, while Billy didn’t even go to
college. Peter is extremely intelligent and trusted by people who matter. Just because
this is a more serious role, however, does not mean that Jonah Hill doesn’t get some jokes
in here and there. Peter is obviously book smart, but Billy gives him a run for his money
when it comes to street smarts and certain social cues. Hill’s character is awkward and
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timid, not too unlike some of his past comedic characters. He is able to play the serious
part surprisingly well, while also finding ways to stick to his true funny nature. Although
you wouldn’t believe it until you see it, Jonah Hill was a perfect fit for this role.
While Moneyball is not your typical cliché sports movie, it is no less relevant to
the traditional sports film. Moneyball tells the story of a team that was told to give up
with a General Manager who refused to do so. The Oakland Athletics were the underdog
team from the start of the film. They made it all the way to the elimination game, only to
be eliminated. Soon there after, they lost their three best players. Nothing was going
their way and everyone knew that, yet Billy Beane refused to accept it. He never doubted
his team for one moment. Billy believed he could find a way to make a winning team,
regardless of nearly everyone else telling him he couldn’t. He and Peter Brand teamed up
and figured out a plan all on their own. It didn’t work right away, though (hence, no
sports movie cliché of them being an instant comeback story). Even when it did start to
work in their favor, everything didn’t automatically become peachy keen. Billy still
struggled with internal turmoil and with everyone around him doubting his ways. The
A’s huge accomplishment wasn’t winning the biggest series in baseball: the Worlds
Series. Their accomplishment was doing way better than anyone ever thought they
could—so well, in fact, that they broke records. This film is relevant to the traditional
sports film in that it shows a team go through struggle, downfall, victory, and triumph all
in one film. Moneyball portrays all the things that a sports film needs while also doing its
most important job: inspiring all who watch it.