Strategy and Athletics - "Moneyball"

Llewellyn 2022-04-19 09:01:15

Even movie enthusiasts who have read countless films can easily "draw a line" between "Moneyball" and many sports-themed movies, because it is a movie about sports but not focusing on competition, but it is still very good-looking. "Inspirational" and "hot-blooded" are the two inherent labels of traditional sports movies, such as competitive sports games that have flooded in the game field, while strategy sports games have rarely been published. The emergence of "Moneyball" can be described as a new approach, and in a sense, it has opened up a new behind-the-scenes perspective for sports movies.
Many "big reversals" in sports have been put on the screen again and again. This time, "Moneyball" is based on real events, which provides strong credibility to the plot of the weaker side creating a miracle and achieving a big reversal. Throughout the entire film, the main creator uses as little space as possible to show the competition on the field, and the main shots focus on the off-field and behind-the-scenes managers of the event. The winning or losing of a sporting event not only depends on the performance of the players on the field, but also has a lot to do with the decision-making of the team behind the scenes.
The protagonist Billy's experience is somewhat different. As he grows older, he moves from the front to the back of the stage. The dazzling light in front of the stage blocks him again and again. The careful management behind the scenes suffers from the dilemma of being stretched again and again. leave a shadow of fear. A budding young man proposed a bold and well-founded "new way" in front of him. He chose to make a new attempt, and then he needed to face the mainstream doubts and opposition in the industry. The success of the strategy is often only related to the results, and the results are divided into stage results and final results. The beauty of this film lies in the dramatic interactions between strategy and staged results, during which the competitive process is simplified or even omitted.
As the saying goes, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. In fact, there are also many calves who are afraid of tigers. The strong Billy decided to persevere in the end when everyone, including the rookie who proposed "New Road", decided to stick to the end, prefer to go to Hushan, and clear the road to Hushan with an unconventional decision. It's a pivotal step in whether or not the situation turns, and it's the presentation of a similar decision-making process that constitutes the film's climax.
After Billy's "New Road" was gradually recognized, he faced the shadow in his heart at a very meaningful moment, but he almost made the shadow intensify on the original basis. The powerful energy of psychological shadows.
The film then jumps to the final result, but the protagonist who is successful in the eyes of the public feels very disappointed. The problem lies in the successful recognition. This is very straightforward in the dialogue between Billy and the young strong guy during the stage of success. show. In Billy's view, staged success is meaningless, and only the winner of the last game is the winner.
A few lines of descriptive text appear at the end of the film to express the follow-up results, which makes people have to think of the translation of "Moneyball". Leading the weak to the strong and then succeeding is a kind of success of "turning the rotten into the magic", leading the strong to the direction of success. Success is success that is "natural" and "reasonable". Of course, both successes should be affirmed, and the differences are obvious.

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Extended Reading

Moneyball quotes

  • Peter Brand: There is an epidemic failure within the game to understand what is really happening. And this leads people who run Major League Baseball teams to misjudge their players and mismanage their teams. I apologize.

    Billy Beane: Go on.

    Peter Brand: Okay. People who run ball clubs, they think in terms of buying players. Your goal shouldn't be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins. And in order to buy wins, you need to buy runs. You're trying to replace Johnny Damon. The Boston Red Sox see Johnny Damon and they see a star who's worth seven and half million dollars a year. When I see Johnny Damon, what I see is... is... an imperfect understanding of where runs come from. The guy's got a great glove. He's a decent leadoff hitter. He can steal bases. But is he worth the seven and half million dollars a year that the Boston Red Sox are paying him? No. No. Baseball thinking is medieval. They are asking all the wrong questions. And if I say it to anybody, I'm-I'm ostracized. I'm-I'm-I'm a leper. So that's why I'm-I'm cagey about this with you. That's why I... I respect you, Mr. Beane, and if you want full disclosure, I think it's a good thing that you got Damon off your payroll. I think it opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities.

  • Peter Brand: It's about getting things down to one number. Using the stats the way we read them, we'll find value in players that no one else can see. People are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws. Age, appearance, personality. Bill James and mathematics cut straight through that. Billy, of the 20,000 notable players for us to consider, I believe that there is a championship team of twenty-five people that we can afford, because everyone else in baseball undervalues them.