Moneyballis a terrific and unique sports movie based on a true story from Major League Baseball, but several key figures from the actual events are left out.Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics between 1997 and 2015, who was celebrated for his groundbreaking approach to baseball team management.Moneyballtells the story of Beane’s ingenious use of sports analytics to redefine how baseball teams fill out their rosters, mixing elements of underdog sports movies with high-octane dialogue from acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.
Thetrue story ofMoneyballis that the Athletics found themselves at a disadvantage compared to larger franchises like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, where the big city market makes the teams inherently more appealing to star players. Thinking outside the box,Billy Beane incorporated new ideas for the 2002 baseball season and managed to send the underdog Athletics on a massive 20-game win streakwith the help of players like Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt) and David Justice (Stephen Bishop).
WhileMoneyballfocuses mainly on true events, some elements of the actual story are omitted to bolster Billy Beane’s narrative. The film emphasizes the genius of his actions and ability to recognize talent, thus leaving out several characters and truths that conflict with that through-line. For example, the antagonistic relationships Beane has with the coaching staff and scouting department weren’t as potent in real life, andthe Athletics also had several players whoweren’tdrafted through theMoneyballsystemand were left out of the movie.
6Tim Hudson
Tim Hudson Was Part Of Oakland’s “Big Three”
Tim Hudson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1997 and pitched for the team for six seasons of his 17-year career, beginning in 1999. This included the 2002 season, where he started 34 games for the team on a 15-9 win/loss ratio. 2002 wasn’t Hudson’s best year for the Athletics, as he was an all-star in 2000 and 2004, but he still had a solid win/loss ratio and an excellent 2.98 ERA. To simplify for non-baseball stat fanatics,Tim Hudson had a great year, but he wasn’t part of Billy Beane’s process for the team.
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Hudson was left over from the previous management style and was not part of Beane’s prerogative in the film. As mentioned,Moneyballis at its best when it seems like Billy Beane is working miracles to assemble his roster of rag-tag, misplaced players. While this is undoubtedly a component of the Athletics' success in 2002, it wouldn’t be fair to say they weren’t without their star players, asTim Hudson was known as a very solid, consistently good pitcher throughout his long MLB career.
5Barry Zito
Zito Was A Cy Young Award-Winning Pitcher
Barry Zito is perhaps the most egregious player not to be mentioned inMoneyball, as he was one of the best players on the Oakland Athletics during the 2002 season.In 2002, Barry Zito was awarded an all-star game appearance and even won the Cy Young Award, honoring him as the best pitcher in the American League that year. Not only that, but Barry Zito was 13th in voting for the MVP award, rivaling the likes of legendary players like Ichiro Suzuki and Alex Rodriguez in the American League.
Barry Zito’s achievements in the 2002 season can’t go understated, but it speaks to the storyMoneyballwas trying to tell that he was left out of the film. Focusing on players like Scott Hatteberg gaveMoneyballits powerful underdog feeling, which is generally the critical ingredient for a fantastic sports film.Including a player like Barry Zito would imply that the Athletics were better off than the film wants them to seem, with the movie’s introduction being about their loss of Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon.
4Mark Mulder
Mulder Was Another Star Pitcher On The Athletics
Mark Mulder’s removal from theMoneyballfilm is very similar to Tim Hudson’s. Mulder was a rising star pitcher on the Athletics during the 2002 season, playing 30 games with a 19-7 win/loss record. For that reason, it’s hard to tell the story of this MLB season without his consideration, and he managed to be an all-star for the two subsequent seasons. At age 24,Mulder was regarded as part of Oakland’s “Big Three,“a prominent pitching rotation that included him, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito, making them one of the most feared teams in the league.
The purpose of theMoneyballline-up is to pick players who “get on base,” which becomes the quick, catchy way of simplifying the advanced complexities of sabermetrics
The reason Mulder was left out is primarily due to the film’s focus on baseball offense. The purpose of theMoneyballline-up is to pick players who “get on base,” which becomes the quick, catchy way of simplifying the advanced complexities of sabermetrics or sports analytics. Thus, focusing on players like Hatteberg and Jeremy Giambi allows the film to demonstrate that it doesn’t take a Hall of Fame batter to get on base. By leaving out the impact of the pitching, however, it makes it seem like these batters were far more effective than they were in reality.
3Miguel Tejada
Tejada Was The American League MVP In 2002
WhileMoneyballleft out the team’s prominent pitchers, it also fails to mention the two best offensive players on the team. Most notably, Miguel Tejada was an all-star third baseman for the Oakland Athletics andthe winner of the 2002 season’s American League MVP Award. Not only was Tejada the best player on the team, but he was one of the best players in Major League Baseball that year. Even though Alex Rodriguez was credited for having far better stats on the season, Tejada was given the incredibly prestigious award for leading the Athletics to the playoffs.
Miguel Tejada is technically played in the film by actor Royce Clayton, but he’s only in the background.
Ignoring Miguel Tejada for theMoneyballfilm is quite shocking, as he had a far more significant impact on their success than any of the spotlighted players, yet had nothing to do with Billy Beane’s system. This isn’t to say that Billy Beane’s work wasn’t effective, as the Athletics wouldn’t have had the potential they did without his being able to supplement their roster with affordable players, but there are still team heroes of the year who weren’t included as characters. Given Tejada’s star role on the team, he could’ve been valuable as an on-field leadership presence in the film.
2Eric Chávez
Chávez Was An Elite MLB Player
With Eric Chávez also being left out of the film,Moneyballessentially ignores the Oakland Athletics' five best players in the 2002 season. When considering how much of an impact these five stars had on the year, it’s a drastic shift in the movie’s narrative to leave them all out.Eric Chávez wasn’t an all-star in 2002, but he finished 14th in MVP votingand put up an impressive 34 home runs and 109 RBI, contributing a notable presence to the team’s 103 wins. Again, this simply ties in withMoneyball’saim of focusing on its underdog characters.
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Chávez’s most outstanding achievement was winning the Gold Glove Award six years in a row, including 2002. These awards are annually granted to each position on the field for their accomplishments on the defensive end of baseball. While this could also connect with the aforementioned statement aboutMoneyball’sfocus on the offensive efforts, only including Chávez as a background extra when he was one of the two best offensive players on the team can only be explained by his lack of importance to the film’s central premise.
1Paul DePodesta
Jonah Hill’s Peter Brand Is An Inaccurate Depiction Of DePodesta
To clarify, Paul DePodesta issort ofa character inMoneyball.Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, is a fictional character made up to serve as a vessel for the concept of sports analytics, and there are reasons for his functionalization that fit the needs of the film. But it’s important to note thathe’s loosely based on a real person named Paul DePodesta, who had a different connection to the team and wasn’t very similar in personality. Peter Brand is introduced in the film as a socially awkward genius who’s ahead of the curve on a major undertaking for professional sports.
Brand fulfills the archetypal movie “nerd” role, simplifying his character to make him seem like a gem in the rough for Beane to spot the value in
In the film, Brand is working for Cleveland’s professional baseball team when Billy Beane discovers him and offers him a job. Brand fulfills the archetypal movie “nerd” role, simplifying his character to make him seem like a gem in the rough for Beane to spot the value in. Portraying Brand the way he is inMoneyballplays into the film’s underdog elements. He’s mostly there to make Brad Pitt’s character seem like a bigger risk-taker, given Brand’s apparent contrasts in demeanor to the other Athletics scouts/staff members, who have more baseball experience.
Paul DePodesta was so appalled by his portrayal inMoneyballthat he asked for the character’s name to be changed.
In real life, Paul DePodesta was far from a timid, unathletic man. He was a confident Harvard graduate who’d played football and baseball for the school. The most important difference is thatDePodesta had actually already been with the Oakland Athletics since 1999 and wasn’t someone Billy Beane had discovered. Their relationship was far more of a mutual, collaborative effort than what’s depicted inMoneyball, where the film tries to give them a big brother, little brother connection.
While Paul DePodesta’s appearance is highly inaccurate, the movie nails the essence of his and Beane’s mission with the team. Their goals with the Oakland Athletics were to use data and analytics to construct a successful baseball team. Enormous player expenses weren’t available to the Athletics like they might’ve been for a Los Angeles or New York-based team, andMoneyballdemonstrates how they compensated with intelligence and originality.
Moneyball
Based on the book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball chronicles the Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane as he attempts to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget - by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. Billy partners with a young and hungry economist, played by Jonah Hill, as they develop an unconventional team of players that will change the game of Baseball forever.
