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Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis
Fascinating book about the people who crunched numbers and changed baseball.
A couple of months ago, the Oakland Athletics won 2003 championship of the
American League's Western Division. What is perhaps most significant about
this, is that the A's have one of the lowest payrolls in Major League
Baseball. Was their division championship an aberration? Not likely, as
this will be the fourth year in a row that the A's have been in post-season
play. How do they do it? According to Michael Lewis's book, "Moneyball,"
the reason is a radical approach to team building on the part of Oakland's
general manager, Billy Beane.
Beane, and his statisticians, have crunched the numbers to determine what
are the crucial elements of winning baseball games. To oversimplify his
philosophy, Beane thinks that batters should take pitches, get on base in
anyway possible, not make outs and, if possible, get some extra-base hits.
A walk is as good as a hit. Sacrifices and stolen bases too often lead to
unnecessary outs so teams should minimize the use of those plays. As to
pitchers, Beane believes that teams pay too much for someone who throws 95
mph, when they should be trying to hire pitchers who get people out even
if they look odd doing it. Complex statistical analysis may influence the
A's management to recruit a college player other teams consider too heavy
to be a professional athlete or cause the A's to go after a more
experienced player who seems washed up because of injuries. "Moneyball" is
an intriguing book that traces the development of a new way of looking at
baseball statistics, made possible through the use of computers. Most of
the people involved in this sports revolution were baseball outsiders who
did not receive a warm reception from most baseball teams, but "Moneyball"
is not only about statistics. There are a number of human interest stories
here too, including that of Billy Beane, who went from being a top baseball
prospect to an inconsistent major league player and who finally quit
playing ball to work in the Athletics' front office. The book presents
Beane as a person of stark contrasts -- a man who, on one hand, has built
his team's success through cool statistical analysis, but whose violent
rages, when things go wrong, often prevent him from watching his team play.
"Moneyball" is a must for baseball enthusiasts, but it might also encourage
people in other fields to think "outside the box" and seek unorthodox
solutions that will make their organizations run more successfully.
Title: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: W. W. Norton
ISBN: 0393057658
Review written by: William Keogan
Reviewer's Rating:8.5
Reader's Rating: 6.00
Reader's Votes: 3
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