Moneyball/Best scene/Jonah Hill/Peter Brand/Adrian Bellani/Carlos Peña

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane is upset by his team's loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 American League Division Series. With the impending departure of star players Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen to free agency, Beane needs to assemble a competitive team for 2002 with Oakland's limited budget.

During a visit to the Cleveland Indians, Beane meets Peter Brand, a young Yale economics graduate with radical ideas about how to assess player value. Beane tests Brand's theory by asking whether he would have drafted Beane out of high school; though scouts considered Beane hugely promising, his career in the major leagues was disappointing. Brand admits that, based on his method of assessing player value, he would not have drafted him until the ninth round. Impressed, Beane hires Brand as his assistant manager.

Rather than relying on scouts' experience and intuition, Brand uses sabermetrics, selecting players based on their on-base percentage (OBP). Brand and Beane hire undervalued players such as unorthodox submarine pitcher Chad Bradford, aging outfielder David Justice, and an injured catcher, Scott Hatteberg.

Oakland scouts are hostile toward the strategy, and Beane fires one, Grady Fuson, after he accuses him of destroying the team. Beane also faces opposition from Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the Athletics' manager. With tensions already high between them due to a contract dispute, Howe disregards Beane's and Brand's strategy and plays a lineup he prefers.

Early in the season, the Athletics fare poorly, leading critics to dismiss the new method as a failure. Brand argues their sample size is too small to conclude the method does not work, and Beane convinces the owner to stay the course. He trades away the lone traditional first baseman, Carlos Peña, to force Howe to use Hatteberg, threatening to make similar deals if Howe does not cooperate.

The Athletics win 19 consecutive games, tying the longest winning streak in American League history. Though Beane does not watch games, his young daughter persuades him to attend the next game, against the Kansas City Royals, when Oakland is leading 11–0 after the third inning. Beane arrives in the fourth inning, only to watch the team falter and allow the Royals to even the score. Thanks to a walk-off home run by Hatteberg, the Athletics win a record-breaking 20th consecutive win. Beane tells Brand he will not be satisfied until they have "changed the game" by winning the championship using their system.

The Athletics eventually clinch the 2002 American League West title but lose to the Minnesota Twins in the 2002 American League Division Series. Beane is contacted by the owner of the Boston Red Sox, who realizes that sabermetrics is the future of baseball. Beane declines an offer to become the Red Sox general manager, despite the $12.5 million salary, which would have made him the highest-paid general manager in history. He returns to Oakland. Two years later, the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series using the model the Athletics pioneered.

[kevinobrien]

This is the moment where Billy gets real, that there is a real chance he will get fired, and he is throwing Pete in the deep end of the pool. Delegating this responsibility is a clear sign that Billy knows Pete may have to ride out the second half of the season without him. He is giving Pete a crash course in on-the-job training, in case he should soon find himself alone in the life raft.

[ivanichianus]

That long silent stare gets me every time 😂😂

[JOBdOut]

I took it as a lesson from Billy to Pete that - while Pete was teaching the idea of looking at players by the numbers instead of as stars - that Billy wanted him to see players as people.

[houseofdny]

Pena was barely 24 when this trade happened, and a .218 hitter when traaded. 62 total mlb games on the field. He came from "You don't walk off the island" DR, learned what Beane was teaching, carved out parts of 14 seasons, and in a six-year stretch with TB and CHI he averaged 94 walks and 31 homers, reached an .ops career high of 1.037, played in a World Series and got a gold glove. I've seen worse.

[Stalicone]

This is just like: “Stal, you’re being reassigned from the ship you’ve been on for the past 3 years ported in San Diego to another ship out of Norfolk. Here’s your orders. Dismissed.”

[craighanson-rcmd]

Love how Hill portraying Brand holds the stare back without panicking & then after Pena leaves takes a minute to breath & then hopes back to work & just breezes through the door & down the hall like a man on a mission.

[albertoflores]

I watch this movie once cause you know baseball. I grew up watching Rookie of the year so hell yes another baseball movie. Total different dynamic, it’s a representation of what it’s like being in the show.

I had to watch this again but this time I took my time analyzing the movie. There’s so much to unravel because the story takes you on a ride to show what it is like when it is time to perform and the reality of when the lights turn off. Brad’s character was able to put on a game face even tho he was going through a difficult time in his personal life while being the man at Oakland and dealing with the elders refusal to adapt to change. Pratt’s character we saw how excited it feels to have a second chance at redemption. Bishop who played David Justice played the player realizing that he’s on the decline of his career and has to let go and take the reigns to set the example to the new generation coming up. If that’s not life I don’t know what is. The point of the movie is you adapt to this ever changing life. Whatever card you were dealt with you play it and keep pushing. With hard work and determination you will achieve success!

Damn this movie was great!

[jackleg]

I've read the book. I didn't know players could be traded and let go during the season so easily.

[tnygunk]

In real life Pena is a super nice guy and an analyst on MLB network now

[FAITHandLOGIC]

Pena hit .218 for the A's in 2002 before being traded to Detroit. He was not that good.

[MarvelDcImage]

This is different from firing someone - they just traded him.

[tommclarty]

Why would you be bummed out to be traded from the west to the East? Your travel schedule just got a lot easier.

[jimpalmer]

I guess that’s why the call it Moneyball.

[chamberlainalex]

The real Carlos Pena just recounted the real story of his trade on MLB Network. Came to watch the scene he described as "totally Hollywood." In real life, he was down in Triple A, and got pull out of a live game. Thought he had done something wrong, being pulled out mid-game. Got the news, and the Tigers' travel secretary's contact details, had to head into the club house and call the guy to arrange travel to his new team.

[topdawg]

How come players don't like being traded???

[bobkumar]

The player gets no say at all in MLB? Here in the UK, the footballer would have the club in court in a NYC second !! Unfair dismissal and get a huge compensation cheque

[ThatBoyMarcus]

Not gonna lie id be pissed to if i found out i got traded from a team where i live in California to now i gotta live in Detroit.

[screenapple]

I would trade him. I don't care about money. I would throw him Yankees. I won't stare his eyes.😂