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Michael Lewis
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Moneyball (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Movie Tie-in Editions) Kindle Edition

by Michael Lewis (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,962 ratings
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“You need know absolutely nothing about baseball to appreciate the wit, snap, economy . . . and incisiveness of [Moneyball]. Lewis has hit another one out of the park.” —Janet Maslin, New York Times


Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager, is leading a revolution. Reinventing his team on a budget, he needs to outsmart the richer teams. He signs undervalued players whom the scouts consider flawed but who have a knack for getting on base, scoring runs, and winning games. Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball and a tale of the search for new baseball knowledge—insights that will give the little guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money.
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  1. Print length
    316 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    August 22, 2011
  6. File size
    1073 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Get to know this book

Previous page

  1. What's it about?

    This book is about the Oakland A's, visionary general manager Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball theorists who are all in search of new baseball knowledge.

  2. Popular highlight

    There was, for starters, the tendency of everyone who actually played the game to generalize wildly from his own experience. People always thought their own experience was typical when it wasn’t.
    2,590 Kindle readers highlighted this

  3. Popular highlight

    That the ability to control the strike zone was the greatest indicator of future success. That the number of walks a hitter drew was the best indicator of whether he understood how to control the strike zone.
    2,414 Kindle readers highlighted this

  4. Popular highlight

    “Managers tend to pick a strategy that is least likely to fail rather than pick a strategy that is most efficient,” said Palmer. “The pain of looking bad is worse than the gain of making the best move.”
    1,070 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.

Lewis was in the room with the A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft, Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider accounts ever written about baseball, Moneyball is populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (Liar's Poker, The New New Thing), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes Moneyball an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly

Lewis (Liar's Poker; The New New Thing) examines how in 2002 the Oakland Athletics achieved a spectacular winning record while having the smallest player payroll of any major league baseball team. Given the heavily publicized salaries of players for teams like the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees, baseball insiders and fans assume that the biggest talents deserve and get the biggest salaries. However, argues Lewis, little-known numbers and statistics matter more. Lewis discusses Bill James and his annual stats newsletter, Baseball Abstract, along with other mathematical analysis of the game. Surprisingly, though, most managers have not paid attention to this research, except for Billy Beane, general manager of the A's and a former player; according to Lewis, "[B]y the beginning of the 2002 season, the Oakland A's, by winning so much with so little, had become something of an embarrassment to Bud Selig and, by extension, Major League Baseball." The team's success is actually a shrewd combination of luck, careful player choices and Beane's first-rate negotiating skills. Beane knows which players are likely to be traded by other teams, and he manages to involve himself even when the trade is unconnected to the A's. " `Trawling' is what he called this activity," writes Lewis. "His constant chatter was a way of keeping tabs on the body of information critical to his trading success." Lewis chronicles Beane's life, focusing on his uncanny ability to find and sign the right players. His descriptive writing allows Beane and the others in the lively cast of baseball characters to come alive.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005G5PPGS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (August 22, 2011)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 22, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1073 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,962 ratings

About the author

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Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis

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Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of The Undoing Project, Liar's Poker, Flash Boys, Moneyball, The Blind Side, Home Game and The Big Short, among other works, lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Tabitha Soren, and their three children.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
6,962 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book hilarious and insightful, with a readable style. They also say the story is great and the power of critical thinking. Readers describe the statistical methodology as informative, spirited, and transferable to many areas of life. They say the book provides an outstanding look at inside the game by an outsider.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
StoryStatistical methodologyWriting styleSports themesHumorCharactersPlot
180 customers mention "Story"177 positive3 negative

Customers find the story great, inspiring, and full of literary vehicles. They appreciate the historical references that help justify and explain the results of the book.

"Michael Lewis is an engaging storyteller. I came to this book via the film with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and I'm glad I read the book...." Read more

"...Michael does it again, with his great story telling approach to reporting...." Read more

"...By a mile.This book is educational, informative and inspiring. It is a book that makes you look at baseball with new eyes...." Read more

"...Lewis fills his story with a fun array of anecdotes and observations which gives the reader a vibrant image of the A's front office and the chagrin..." Read more

163 customers mention "Statistical methodology"143 positive20 negative

Customers find the statistical methodology in the book informative, easy to read, and spirited. They also say it contains a fundamental truth of investing that anyone could use. Readers also say the book is an amazing eye-opener about a then radical new way of managing. They say the principles in the work are great for business and sports.

"...of future gains." Once that is understood, the stats are far from meaningless...." Read more

"...argument for using "cold" higher math in sports, and a spirited study of the ballplayers who add value to the original purchase, and the GMs who..." Read more

"...By a mile.This book is educational, informative and inspiring. It is a book that makes you look at baseball with new eyes...." Read more

"...the stark truth of mathematical analysis, is filled with countless insights and journalistic jewels...." Read more

108 customers mention "Writing style"95 positive13 negative

Customers find the writing style very readable, lucid, and quick. They also say the dialogue of the movie is clever, witty, and very Aaron Sorkin. Readers also say that the book is informative and not technical.

"...I found it necessary to the story and it is spread out and well explained by the author...." Read more

"...It takes you, briefly but lucidly, into the world of the draft, high school sports, minor leagues, retired players, coaches at all levels, computers..." Read more

"...This book is a beautifully written example of how a few men use ideas based on what *is* to consistently triumph over those who ignore and belittle..." Read more

"...Great writing that kept me turning the pages." Read more

29 customers mention "Sports themes"29 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an outstanding look at inside the game. They also appreciate the author's ability to make incomprehensible figures eye-opening. Readers also mention the book provides a fascinating look into the GM's office and some of baseball's most creative and brightest minds.

"...In other words, while great fielding is beautiful to watch, baseball is fundamentally an offensive game, and Bill James discovered that "on-base..." Read more

"...old way of seeing things and the new way of what data proves is very well drawn. No statistical experience needed, no love for the game required...." Read more

"...things in a way that a novice can understand, and with enough color to make you laugh...." Read more

"A great story, beautifully and intriguingly written although I was left in the dust and lightly read through some heavy baseball terminology laden..." Read more

24 customers mention "Humor"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the book hilarious and insightful. They also say the author is one of the most witty writers writing in business.

"...even got onto the fact that Michael Lewis is one of the most insightful and witty writers writing in business at the moment, and this book is a..." Read more

"...It's very funny, in a sad way, that Billy Beane seems to be the only baseball guy who actaully looks at what a player has accomplished so far...." Read more

"...It is funny, it is instructive, it is irreverant and it is very, very readable...." Read more

"...The dialog of the movie is clever, witty, and very Aaron Sorkin, but the book has a different non-Sorkin feel...." Read more

12 customers mention "Characters"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters fascinating, phenomenal, and great.

"...insider accounts ever written about baseball, Moneyball is populated with fascinating characters...." Read more

"...The dialog of the movie is clever, witty, and very Aaron Sorkin, but the book has a different non-Sorkin feel...." Read more

"...Michael Lewis is phenomenal, IMO. Everything he writes is very readable, as long as you're interested in the subjects he covers...." Read more

"...Despite that, I loved this book. Lewis does a phenomenal job of showing the personalities involved in this fascinating story and making you feel..." Read more

8 customers mention "Plot"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the plot inspiring, engaging, and fascinating.

"...It has increased my interest and enjoyment in watching games...." Read more

"...boyhood to adulthood, and even though it drags the Bill James segment was very fascinating. 10/10 recommend" Read more

"...Book is well written and engaging." Read more

"...An exciting and important read for any baseball fan." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

justlikethegame
5.0 out of 5 stars Finding a new way to win
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
Michael Lewis is an engaging storyteller. I came to this book via the film with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and I'm glad I read the book. Of course, as with all books, there's more to the story than the film suggests. The book includes the fact that Beane inherited the statistical analysis approach he uses with the Oakland Athletics from his predecessor, Sandy Alderson. The film gives the impression that Beane arrived at it after meeting his assistant GM. However, even though he did not originate the approach Beane was among the early adopters of it and seems to have been willing to fully commit to it. Beane himself is portrayed as a very intense character, often prone to violent outbursts, but still an effective leader.

What I love about this story is that it is about a team faced with what seems like intractable adversity who find a new way to compete. Although I don't believe that statistical analysis alone is as effective as it sometimes seems, I do believe that it is far more valuable than its opponents would contend. Practitioners should take the same warnings as those provided for people looking into the stock market: "past performance is no guarantee of future gains." Once that is understood, the stats are far from meaningless. Baseball, like most forms of conflict and competition, is a fluid situation with innumerable variables at play including luck and chaos. Reality cannot be reduced to numbers, but it can be better understood with the RIGHT numbers.

The profiles of Billy Beane and key Oakland A's players from this period are seen by some readers as digressions, but I experienced them as along the theme of adaptation to adversity and finding new ways to win. Beane did not experience much success as a major league player, but he adapted and went into scouting and then management at which he has been very successful (though not as successful as he would like). The two players most prominently featured are Scott Hatteberg and Chad Bradford, both with very interesting stories. Hatteberg moved from catcher to first base after nerve damage in his elbow. Bradford was a pitcher with an unconventional delivery whose pitching style looked awkward despite his competence at deceiving batters.

Some have criticized this book because the Oakland A's have not performed well in the past couple of years under Beane's continued tenure as GM. That criticism is as absurd as readers of Jim Collins' book *Good to Great* who dismiss his conclusions about successful companies. Both books are about practices and processes that contribute to success. In the case of Moneyball, the rest of the league has been adopting these approaches and they have become less and less of an advantage. Also, the game goes on, and teams are finding new ways to compete. The point is, according to the conventional wisdom of the time, no team with a fraction of the payroll of the NY Yankees should've been able to compete or have similar success to the Yankees, but the A's did. The story is, in a sense, time bound, but the principles about adaptation, being stalwart in the face of those who resist meaningful change, and finding value where others see none (aka market inefficiencies), are all themes Lewis illustrates and develops effectively.

The baseball minutiae can bother some readers, but I found it necessary to the story and it is spread out and well explained by the author. Overall it is a very enjoyable book and, in my opinion, very inspiring stories.
3 people found this helpful
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O. Halabieh
5.0 out of 5 stars Value Investing meets Baseball!
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book tells the story of the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and his team building philosophy/approach. Billy has focused on drafting undervalued or overlooked players and building a great team on a budget. Unlike most of his GM peers, Billy and his team rely on empirical statistics to make decisions on a more systematical fashion. He understands that to beat the other teams who have much largers budgets he cannot play the same game they are. Instead he applies - what I call - a Benjamin Graham value investing style approach to picking players (stocks) and building a team (portfolio). The outcome a team that pays the lowest on a per win basis within the league.

Michael does it again, with his great story telling approach to reporting. A recommended read for any baseball or business enthusiast alike.

Below are key excerpts from the book:

1) "The meetings, from their point of view, are all about minimizing risk. They can't afford to have guys not work out. There's no point in taking risks on players temperamentally, or legally, unsuited to pro ball."

2) "We're blending what we see but we aren't allowing ourselves to be victimized by what we see."

3) "When Alderson entered the game he wanted to get his mind around it, and he did. He concluded that everything from on-field strategies to player evaluation was better conducted by scientific investigation - hypotheses tested by analysis of historical statistical baseball data - than by reference to the collective wisdom of old baseball men. By analyzing baseball statistics you could see through a lot of baseball nonsense."

4) "Managers tend to pick a strategy that is least likely to fail rather than pick a strategy that is most efficient," said Palmer. " The pain of looking bad is worse than the gain of making the best move."

5) John Henry: "People in both fields operate with beliefs and biases. To the extent you can eliminate both and replace them with data, you gain a clear advantage. Many people think they are smarter than others in the stock market and that the market itself has no intrinsic intelligence - as if it's inert. Many people think they are smarter than others in baseball and that the game on the field is simply what they think it is through their set of images/beliefs. Actual data from the market means more than individuals perception/belief. The same is true in baseball."

6) "The important thing is not to recreate the individual," Billy Bean would later say. "The important thing is to recreate the aggregate."

7) "No matter how successful you are, change is always good. There can never be a status quo. When you have no money you can't afford long-term solutions, only short-term ones. You have to always be upgrading. Otherwise you're fu**ed."

8) "The day you say you have to do something, you're screwed. Because you are going to make a bad deal. You can always recover from the player you didn't sign. You may never recover from the player you signed at the wrong price."

9) "Know exactly what every player in baseball is worth to you. You can put dollar figure on it."

10) "Know exactly what you want and go after him." (Never mind who they say they want to trade.)

11) "Every deal you do will be publicly scrutinized by subjective opinion. If I'm [IBM CEO] Lou Gerstner, I'm not worried that every personnel decision I make is going to wind up on the front page of the business section. Not everyone believes that they know everything about the personal computer. But everyone who ever picked up a bat thinks he knows baseball. To do this well, you have to ignore the newspapers."

12) Bill James: "1) Every form of strength covers one weakness and creates another, and therefore every form of strength is also a form of weakness and every weakness is a strength. 2) The balance of strategies always favors the team which is behind. 3) Psychology tends to pull the winners down and push the losers upwards."

13) "I learned that if you look long enough for an argument against reason you will find it."
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Miguel L.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro, excedió toda expectativa
Reviewed in Mexico on July 4, 2024
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Recibí mi producto en tiempo récord y de acuerdo con lo anunciado! Muy satisfecho
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N. Tiwari
5.0 out of 5 stars Review from a non-baseball person ---- it's a good book
Reviewed in Canada on October 19, 2023
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I like this book and I like Lewis' writing style.

That said, if you aren't a baseball fan - and I am not - then there will be parts that will drag. But that isn't really a fault of the book or the writer in the least bit. I can't see this book being marketed as anything other than a book about baseball, for baseball fans. It literally is exactly what it sells itself as.

That said, if you can sit through the bits that drag to the parts that could serve some value for non-baseball fans (like me) then I think you are in for a rewarding experience. The book just barely touches 300 pages so it's not particularly long either.
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N. A. Osborne
5.0 out of 5 stars The best Sports Book I've Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2024
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This story of how a group of nerds tried to play baseball in a different way is reasonably well known now and many of their method have had an impact on the games' evolution. The book of the story is simply outstanding and superbly written. It really gives an insight to how stuck, in thinking, sports can become and how resistant, those inside a sport, can be to change. In a world of sport dominated by big spending teams the method of finding value in undervalued players give as extraordinary insight into a game dominated by stats, often ill used by teams. Great stuff!
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Onze of the Best Book i've read.
Reviewed in France on June 10, 2024
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I enjoyed the movie, i loved the Book.
I don't watch baseball but the Book Can make you love it.
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Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars Regalo apprezzato
Reviewed in Italy on November 12, 2023
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Lo cercavo da tempo, conoscevo la storia. Molto apprezzato dalla persona alla quale l’ho regalato
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