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Oh my how am I the first person on eBay reviewing a book of this great calibre? This is my second copy of this book, and it will soon be my second time reading it. Unfortunately I have to finish a near 600 page book, also on baseball, before I can start... and I am a slow reader. I was given my first copy of this book by the husband of my wife's cousin. He told me that as a baseball fan, I would love it. Love it, I did. It is a story of a former player named Billy Beane. It's the story of a man who had so much talent that he should be a household name, however, Billy could not hit major league pitching and never did live up to his expectations. Eventually Billy turned to his team, the Oakland A's, and asked to become a lead scout. He took a major pay cut to do this. Billy found his true calling though. Rising through the organization, Billy Beane is now the General Manager of the Oakland A's. As the GM, have you noticed that Billy gets his teams to the Playoffs nearly every year? Do you realize that he is doing this with a payroll far less than any of the other teams that make the playoffs? This book will tell you how using different statistics than the other GMs, statistics first discovered by mega-fan and statistician Bill James, Billy and his small corps of scouts can find overlooked talent in High Schools, Colleges, and even on other Minor League Teams. Find out why other GMs cringe when Billy calls mid-season before the trading deadline to ask about an A ball player on their team that they did not even know of. My first copy of this book was given to a friend who was heading for Iraq. I wonder some time how many soldiers had the opportunity to read the book that was once given to me. Now that a few years have passed, I'm excited to read this book again. Why, because I assume some of the prospects that were the subject of this book have now become players. I'm excited to read their names once more, then check on their current status through MLB's website. So if you're a fan of the great American Classic... baseball, you need to join me in reading what I consider the greatest baseball classic... Moneyball. I want to finish with what I told my friend Daniel when I gave him this book. Don't let chapter 2 discourage you into putting down the book. Unless you are a Bill James fanatic, chapter 2 will overwhelm you with statistics. Hang in there, start chapter 3 and you will be glad you did!Read full review
Having read the book many years ago I was excited to locate a copy available. Moneyball by Michael Lewis is certainly a wonderful read. The baseball fanatic that I am, I found the book to be a true delight as a peak behind the scenes of the world of baseball raft picks. A wealth of detail explains the individuals who are discussed within the book. Commonsense and thought provoking tops are covered in multiple chapters. Beyond a book which is just read chapter by chapter it is fantastic to write notes on quotes and ideas.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am only part way through the book, but I can already say it's a great book. If you love baseball and you find the behind the scenes workings of baseball and scouting interesting, then this book is for you. The author tells stories about people whose names I have heard before - now I get to learn more about some of these names. The book tells stories of the more recent history of baseball, the baseball I grew up with in the 70s and 80s. Good book. I will be finding more time to read in the coming days and weeks. If you're a Mets fan, with the changes in the organization going on now in the fall of 2010, it's a must read.
I bought this book because I am a longtime Oakland A's fan and found it to be a very quick and informative read. I wish I would have read it years ago. It's great for getting a better understanding of why some teams can spend enormous amounts of money on players and why others can't. I also found it interesting to learn the ways how A's GM Billy Beane can get a small market/small budget team to not only still compete, but at times out perform and finish better than the larger market/large budget teams.
Moneyball is well known within baseball circles, but appeals to a larger audience as it depicts the real lives of ballplayers as they move from team to team. The book provided an inside look into the secretive wolrd of baseball GM's; their habits, language (!) and thoughts. A great book, easy to read, hard to put down.
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