Moneyball
Posted by Book Mavens on April 27th, 2012
Title: Moneyball
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: Norton, 2003
Summary/Review: If you have read and enjoyed any of Michael Lewis’s other books this one will not disappoint.
He is a master researcher, interviewer and story-teller who just seems to get better and better. Moneyball gives the reader an inside look at professional baseball by looking at Billy Bean and his staff of one, a Harvard economics graduate, as they try and succeed, to compete against the Goliaths of the National Pastime. Namely, the Yankees and Red Sox. The author’s in-depth investigative journalism lets the reader see, first-hand, how the management offices in professional baseball work, as well as the old-boys’-club assumptions under which they toil and fail.
Billy Bean was a top prospect in the Mets organization who became disenchanted with the game but stayed involved as a scout and later as the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. He falls under the spell of Bill James, the patron saint of baseball statistics and analysis (known as Sabermetrics) and becomes the general manager who spends the least money per win in all of baseball. In an era of multi-million dollar sports contracts he manages, through purchasing little-known but statistically-sound players to come out on top, or very near the top of the standings every season.
You will thoroughly enjoy this inside, very inside, look at the wheelings and dealings which make Moneyball a winner.
Who will like this book?: Anyone who’s into baseball, and not afraid to get the (not so pretty) truth. People who are interested in non-fiction books that read like fiction.
If you like this, try this: If you’re interested in the topic- concerning economics and baseball- try Alan Schwarz’s “The Number Game” or “Baseball Between the Numbers”. If you enjoy Michael Lewis’ style of writing, he has a number of other books including “The Big Short” and “The Blind Side”.
Or, check out this blog or this one- two more books about sports!
Recommended by: Mark Z, Guest Reviewer
If this looks like a book you’d be interested in, visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to place a hold or check availability