Money Ball Questions

At the end of the 2002 season, the Athletics had exactly the same number of wins as the Yankees. How much did the Yankees pay on average for each win? How much did the A's pay on average for each win?

$1 400 000 $260 000

Why did Billy not succeed at the major-league level as a player, despite having 'all the tools'?

Lacked confidence and the ability/maturity to deal with failure.

The equation on the whiteboard: is known as the 'Pythagorean Expectation formula, what does it allow Pete to project?

Winning percentage of a team, hence the number of games (99) required to reach the 2002 post-season (The Oakland athletics actually won 103 games in 2002)

In 1991, what was the total payroll for: New York Yankees? Oakland Athletics?

Yankees = $114,457,768 Oakland = $39,772,689

According to Pete Brandt, "... the goal of people who run ball clubs is not to buy players, it is to buy wins. In order to buy wins they need to

buy runs

Why is Chad Bradford (a pitcher), undervalued by other teams?

He 'throws funny'.

Why does Billy prefer Scott Hatteburg at 1st base instead of Carlos Pena (despite Hatteburg's lack of experience and fielding skills in the position)?

He gets on base more than Pena.

How many games back from the AL West lead are the Athletics as of May 23, 2002? How many games had they lost of their last 17 games?

10 games back from the leading team. 14 games (Had won 20 games but had lost 26 games).

How many runs are needed, and how many runs can be allowed, in order for the team to reach this goal?

814 runs needed and 645 runs that can be allowed.

The team that Billy has assembled is based on a statistical theory known colloquially as 'Moneyball'. Who invented this idea, and what was his real job at the time?

Bill James (who was a Night-watchman in a factory).

As a High School baseball star, why was Billy projected to be picked in the first round of the player draft?

Billy was a '5-tool' guy. He could run, field, throw, hit, and hit for power.

What is the real problem that Billy and his team of scouts have to solve?

Building a team on a limited budget that can compete against teams with big-money.

How is Billy going to replace players like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Olmedo Saenz?

By recreating them 'in the aggregate'. Finding three ball players whose combined OBP (on-base- Percentage) matches the total of Giambi, Damon and Saenz (1.092).

Pete knows that there are 25 potential players that must be out there and available for Oakland because

Everybody else undervalues them .

What was Billy Beane (General Manager) told to do by the team owner of the Athletics?

Find replacements for the money the team actually has.

The three replacement players that Billy is interested in all have 'problems' but are cheap. Name the players:What do they all have in common?

Jeremy Giambi David JusticeScott HatteburgThey can all get on base. (Have high OBP's).

The three players that the Oakland Athletics will to lose to free agency are:

Johnny Damon Jason Giambi Jason Isringhausen

Billy states that if the A's win the last (championship) game of the season, they would have re-invented the game. What does he mean by this?

Leveling the playing field. It would show that small-market teams could compete and win against teams with larger payrolls such as the Yankees and Dodgers.

Pete explains to Billy that the code that is shown on his computer is an algorithm that analyzes players based on a number of statistics. It is all about getting everything down to one number .What is it used for?

To find value in players that nobody else can see.