Moneyball

1) What was the “Moneyball”approach that Billy Beane and Peter Brandt applied to the Oakland Athletics 2002 season? Was it an “art” or a “science”? What single statistic did they boil their value consideration down to? (In class research/discussion).

The Moneyball approach was to buy the players who have a smaller salary and a high average of getting on base. This was both an Art and a Science because not only did they use a series of equations to find the perfect player, they talked to, and built the players up for a better team chemistry. They boiled their value consideration down to on base percentage.

2) What is the equation used to calculate OBP? (In class research/discussion)
Equation to calculate On Base Percentage = (Total Hits + Total Walks + Total Hit By Pitches) / (Total At Bats + Total Walks + Total Hit By Pitches + Sacrifice Flies)

3) What is design? (In class research/discussion)

Design is the process to creating a plan/object using groups of abstract ideas.

4) Describe 3 situations where movie characters (intentionally or not) applied a step from the PLTW 12 Step Design Process. Explain both the (a) situation as well as (b) how the step is relevant:

1 - Step 1: Define a Problem - Receive a problem to solve from the client. Gather information. Be inspired through media exposure of current problem and take action. :: The client was the owner of the Oakland A's, and the man who was to solve the problem was Billy Beane. This step is relevant because it was the main plot of the movie; there was a problem, and it needed to be solved.
2 - Step 4: Identify Criteria and Specify Constraints - Identify what the solution should do and the degree to which the solution will be pursued. Identify constraints. :: Billy Beane told the recruiting board what he wanted them to do, and how they were to do it. He was tired of their recruiting techniques and wanted something new; he wanted to recruit players based on their OBP. This is relevant because many parts of the movie were filmed with Billy Beane talking to the recruiters, and either rejecting or accepting their ideas.
3 - Step 12: Communicate Processes and Results - Communicate the designer's final solution through media such as PowerPoint, poster, session, technical report. Market the Product. Distribute. :: In the case of the movie Moneyball, Billy Beane communicated his processes and results through his team's success on the field. They were winning and people took note of this. This is relevant because many people adopted his new idea to recruiting a baseball team. It was obvious to people that this new strategy worked.


5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)

1 - Supporting your friends/family in many aspects.
2 - Having charisma.
3 - Effective Communication


6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:
1 - Billy Beane talking to the "older" baseball player, giving him moral support.

2 - Billy Beane trading the player that the coach was constantly playing on first base (he was expected to being rookie of the year), so that he could get what he wanted.

3 - The scene where Billy was calling the other GM's of teams to create a "trade list" so he could get the player he wanted.

7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak? 68 : 51

8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)? 1.3 : 1

9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak? 20 games won.

10) Given the A’s win/loss ratio at the start of the streak (listed two questions above), what are the odds of winning 20 games in a row? Run the numbers. (In class research/discussion)
0.000013


11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?
I think that there was something to the Moneyball approach. Honestly, it seems like the way they approached the construction of the team is an obvious way to construct a team. Points win games, not defense. You can teach a person to catch a ball, but not to get on base; that comes naturally.

12) Did Billy Beane strictly apply the “science” of Moneyball to his management approach? Was there an “art” to his efforts as well? Describe a circumstance where he broke from the Moneyball approach to make a positive change for the team.
There was an art to Billy Beane's effort and that is when he traded out Jason Giambi because he wasn't a good leader, and didn't fit with the team's chemistry. The trade did seem to improve the team's play.





Bonus Question (look into this if you’ve finished ahead of the class):
Money Ball was originally a book. What author wrote the book? What other books has this author written? Is there a theme to his writing?
The Author who wrote Moneyball was Michael Lewis. He also wrote The Blind Side. It seems that a theme to his writing is taking something that isn't very developed, and turning it into something that is great.