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bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't followed baseball faithfully in years, but this book was still fascinating to me. I imagine devoted fans of the game would get even more out of it. Lewis has a gift for writing in a very conversational style while conveying complex information.
ricksilva's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Michael Lewis recounts the 2002 season of Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, and his (at the time) unique approach to putting together a winning MLB team on (by MLB standards) a shoestring budget.
The book traces Beane's own struggles as a player, and how he was driven to take nearly the opposite approach to scouting and drafting as the outlook that originally brought him to the Big Leagues. Beane's search for a different way of doing business led him to new approaches to looking at baseball statistics that upended the traditional ways of evaluating players.
This is a fun blend of baseball lore, mathematics, and profiles of the outlandish personalities that are playing the game at its highest level. There's also a lot of intrigue on the business end of things, as Beane attempts to get the best of his competitors and often finds himself at odds with people in his own organization.
While Beane is the star here, the author does not shy away from Beane's significant shortcomings as a player and as a general manager. The book does a nice job of circling back at the end to give a glimpse of the players that Beane drafted in 2002, as seen in a dramatic early chapter, although I would have enjoyed even more follow-up on their ongoing stories.
The book traces Beane's own struggles as a player, and how he was driven to take nearly the opposite approach to scouting and drafting as the outlook that originally brought him to the Big Leagues. Beane's search for a different way of doing business led him to new approaches to looking at baseball statistics that upended the traditional ways of evaluating players.
This is a fun blend of baseball lore, mathematics, and profiles of the outlandish personalities that are playing the game at its highest level. There's also a lot of intrigue on the business end of things, as Beane attempts to get the best of his competitors and often finds himself at odds with people in his own organization.
While Beane is the star here, the author does not shy away from Beane's significant shortcomings as a player and as a general manager. The book does a nice job of circling back at the end to give a glimpse of the players that Beane drafted in 2002, as seen in a dramatic early chapter, although I would have enjoyed even more follow-up on their ongoing stories.
leenhoutsm's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
ultimatekate's review against another edition
4.0
This book was awesome! It followed the 2002 Oakland As, who ended up winning over 100 regular season games and set a record for 20 consecutive wins, despite having a payroll of about $42 million. (By comparison, the Rangers, who ended up finishing last, had a payroll of well over $100 million.) It also tells you how the field of baseball statistics developed (the dude who came up with the original box score? A cricket player who didn't really understand the rules of baseball.) and how it continues to develop, what GMs look for when drafting and trading players, and which statistics *really* matter when it comes to how successful a baseball player is. (Hint: it's not RBIs and batting average.)
Of course, the other fun part of reading this book now was seeing how things worked out. For instance, I knew Billy Beane wouldn't live the As to manage another team, and that Joe Blanton would end up being drafted by the As, and Kevin Youklis would be drafted by the Red Sox. And as great as Billy Beane is, I can't help but think that maybe steroids (I'm looking at you, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi) played a part in the team's success. Either way, the book was really interesting and I learned A LOT about baseball.
Of course, the other fun part of reading this book now was seeing how things worked out. For instance, I knew Billy Beane wouldn't live the As to manage another team, and that Joe Blanton would end up being drafted by the As, and Kevin Youklis would be drafted by the Red Sox. And as great as Billy Beane is, I can't help but think that maybe steroids (I'm looking at you, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi) played a part in the team's success. Either way, the book was really interesting and I learned A LOT about baseball.