Moneyball

The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Moneyball reveals a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the giant offices of Major League teams and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors.

In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win.... How can we not cheer for David?

©2004 Michael Lewis (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

"The single most influential baseball book ever." (Rob Neyer, Slate)

"Another journalistic tour de force." (Wall Street Journal)

"Engaging, informative, and deliciously contrarian." (Washington Post)

Great book, great author, and good narration too

Any additional comments?

Michael Lewis writes in a most compelling way. His storytelling, while delving into somewhat peculiar topics, is amazing. Looking forward to his new book!

This is my first audiobook in adulthood. I therefore dont know exacly how narrators are supposed to sound. I felt the narration was a little too emotionless. I would have preferred the narrator to convey more emotion and feeling. He had a pleasant voice, and overall the narration was good.

A book about baseball, but not just about baseball…

If you are indifferent to baseball, don't let that stop you from reading this book. There is so much more going on here. On the other hand, if you absolutely hate baseball, give this a miss -- baseball is the backdrop for everything. Just like real life.

Insightful read

Baseball and behavioral economics fans alike will love this book. I saw the movie first and was compelled to read the book. I'm glad that I did.

Narrative AND explanatory. Highly Recommended.

Lewis tells a compelling story and provides ample explanation when needed. It's not a story about baseball; it's about human nature and our relationship with the truth.

Entertaining and Instructive

I have a handful of books in audible that I listen to over and over. This is one of them.

Between the narrator’s superb performance, Michael Lewis’s immersive storytelling and the simple content of the book—this is one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read. I laughed at many parts and had to rewind and re-listen to many others.

The priorities and tactics that the Oakland A’s built an organization around are highly applicable to my own small business. I’ve always been a sports guy and Moneyball was an excellent lens to view the world of market inefficiencies through. It has changed the way I approach my own business and has certainly improved our performance.

The book is much more in-depth than the movie. You learn more about every character, all the tactics and the technicalities. If you aren’t a stat person, you may have a harder time following along. If you are a sports fan at all, you can get a lot out of this book.

A Great Business Book

How to win on a limited budget. Oh yeah ... and a great sports book too.

Now I understand...

What did you love best about Moneyball?

why I've lost my love for the game. Baseball, of course, is a moneymaking enterprise. This book covers the transition of it from a dreamer-filled game of hope to its game of numbers, dollars and 'sense'. I used to love the game-year after year of familiar faces (and eternal optimism as I was a Cubs fan). I understand now why the change, why it had to happen, but it still makes me sad.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The game itself and its changes from the 80's on. I didn't pay attention to the politics of the game, just realized favorite payers were being traded left and right. Now I get it. Makes me sad, but as with everything else, the bottom line is raison d'être.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

He has an easy voice to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Mostly glad it wasn't just me, but the changes in the system that has changed my view of the game. On to watching high school and college b-ball for me. I still love the crack of the bat, the beauty of the 'perfect swing'....

Hating the Yankees...

Well, I don't really mean that I do, or that you should, hate the yankees. What I mean is this: Any fool can throw a bunch of money at something and get good results. One who really understands value, wants to spend a little and get a lot in return. Any measure of quality that lacks a metric for cost is incomplete.

Moneyball questions the whole of baseball orthodoxy and finds that what everybody knows just ins't so. Does a player's batting average really count for much? Does he really have to have a great glove? Does it matter—even a little—how fast he runs the forty?

The A's used different metrics and found that those players who excelled in On Base Percentage were undervalued in the market and using this, and other, sacreligious notions, put together winning baseball teams, for a fraction of the payroll paid out by the bloated and less clever Yankees front office.

So, it's not so much about hating the Yankees as it is about pulling for the plucky upstart who manages to humble richer, more arrogant, kids with guile, cleverness and spunk.

The story is told in a tight narrative, and reads more like a novel than a book about baseball. It's a must for anyone who ever stayed up late to watch a World Series game. Or for anyone who ever rooted for an underdog.

Great story!

fantastic story! great story of believing in yourself and an idea. narrator was engaging. fun to listen to.

More than baseball

This is a story of not judging a book. By its cover, but much deeper than that. It’s about disruptive thinking. A great for the baseball fan or otherwise.