On the ‘Moneyball’

When Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane decided to buck the system and put together a championship-caliber team on a budget using computer-generated probabilities and the strategies of a statistics-crunching analyst, the entire game took notice. Author Michael Lewis documented Beane’s team in his 2003 book, and now Brad Pitt portrays the controversial owner in this Friday’s new baseball drama Moneyball. With the smallest player payroll in the entire league, Beane drafts and fields a tough group of players that notch a stunning record and respect around the country in a season that proves money doesn’t have to buy everything, but ingenuity and a little smarts can go a long way. Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright co-star. Rated PG-13. (Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon)