Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Normally I would not be drawn to a book about baseball and statistics. I like statistics well enough, but I tend to shy away from books about math and statistics partly because I spend all of my working day thinking about such things. And baseball has just never really grabbed my attention.

But I heard really great things about the movie, and when I failed to find anyone to see it with me,* I thought I'd read the book. About which I'd also heard really great things.

I was a bit surprised how quickly I got sucked in. Yes it's about statistics, and baseball, and mostly baseball statistics. But it's also about ideas that extend well beyond baseball, and it's even more about people. The book is about Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's, and how he strategized to outsmart big money teams like the Yankees by relying on statistics to draft players no one else would have given a second thought. And the book is also about some of those players and the chance they got, and about Billy himself and how his dreams reflect his own failed experience in the major leagues, and about the fans outside the establishment who changed the face of baseball statistics out of little more than a passion for the game.

It kind of made me want to love baseball.

I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to watch a game anytime soon, but I do feel like I have a better appreciation of the sport itself having read this book, and I'm willing not to dismiss it offhand. And whether or not you like baseball. I would really recommend this book. If you think it sounds interesting, you'll probably love it. If you don't think it sounds particularly interesting, you might be surprised. There's a fair amount of information, but also a fair amount of narrative, and it's pretty compelling.


* Meaning I suggested it once to a friend who immediately suggested three different movies, after which I didn't bother suggesting it again to anyone. So I can't really say I tried all that hard.