Movie set for the movie Moneyball starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

Image Credit: Georgio - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Our staff has written numerous articles on the correlation between small market teams, ticket sales and team revenue. As you can probably imagine, we were excited to finally see a movie documenting the sometimes uneven playing field in Major League BaseballBaseball is a money sport and it became that when people like you and I began spending $150 on a single ticket or $100 on a player's jersey.

Just to give you a little background on 'MoneyBall' and it's plot, it documents the influence former MLB player Billy Beane has had on the Oakland Athletics as it's General Manager. After losing Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and pitcher Jason Isringhausen to free agency following a successful season, it was back to the drawing board for the Oakland Athletics. Only this year, money is not spent on scouring the minor leagues for talent as most small market baseball teams do. Instead, Beane focuses on spending money on undervalued and obscure role players that can get on base above all else.

Fans of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will not like the idea of the movie as these two big market teams are negatively referenced numerous times. Fenway Park makes an excellent cameo and I am now convinced that Phillip Seymour Hoffman can play nearly any role he's asked to play. In other news, Brad Pitt admits to not knowing much about baseball in real life. You will never notice.  Please go see this movie as it will make even the casual baseball fan appreciate the game that much more.

 

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