Moneyball Reflection

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)
• Rigorous statistical analysis had demonstrated that on-base percentage and slugging percentage are better indicators of offensive success
2) What is the equation used to calculate OBP? (In class research/discussion)
• OPS= OBP + SLG where OBP is on-base percentage and SLG is slugging average. These averages are defined SLG = TB/AB and
OBP = H + BB + HBP/ (AB + BB + SF + BP)
3) What is design? (In class research/discussion)
• A plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.
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:
• Billy Defined the Problem. He realized that his team was going to be bad if he didn’t change something.
• Billy brainstormed with Pete to find a way to make his team successful with a smaller budget.
• As the movie went on, Billy and Pete were able to refine their approach by picking certain players with statistics and their potential.
5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)
• Confidence
• Organization
• Perseverance
6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:
• Beane confidence that his team would be successful
• Had each person playing a certain position, and each player had a certain role
• At the beginning, one of the players was playing a different position. Beane had to work with him until he got the position down
7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak?
• 4:5
8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)?
• 44 Percent
9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak?
• 20games 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)
• .000013
11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?
• No, he used statistics to increase the chances of them winning
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.
• Yes there was an art; he picked players with the statistics and their playing ability. I think he picked players that he thought who would do well.
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?
• Blind Side
• He has written sport themed and inspirational books