Moneyball is NOT a Style of Game

Moneyball. Say the word to any average baseball fan and typically you’ll get a reply back that the term refers to a “style” of baseball that involves high on-base percentage and a neutering of any speed on the basepaths.

See, it’s been easy since the release of Moneyball in 2003 to completely misconstrue the message of that book. People like Angels TV announcer Steve Physioc, who as recently as this past weekend, explained that the Oakland Athletics had given up on the Moneyball style because they were putting on the hit and run and actually stealing bases. They may be stealing bases, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t still trying to do what Michael Lewis described in Moneyball. Remember the subtitle of the book was “The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”.