Harry Redknapp > Brad Pitt

Tottenham 'Money Ball' Hotspur

by Sibs

Ok, stick with me on this one, as I know the title of the post implies I'm about to chat away about baseball and maths for a while.

For those that aren't familiar Money Ball is the latest Brad Pitt film that will no doubt win an Oscar or two. It is based on the story of Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletic baseball team. No, I haven't seen the film, read the book, or claim to have any knowledge of baseball, but I do know the basis premise of the film/story.

Beane set about building a competitive baseball team, based not on conventional thought about how the game should be played and the statistics that should be used, but on a new series of stats and analysis. This led to him fielding forgotten about players, and drafting players based on numbers, rather than the advice and thoughts of scouts.

The results worked.

There was a program on BBC 5 Live the other night, about Money Ball, and relating the story and working methods used to football. It was interesting that they used Scott Parker as a typical example of a Money Ball player...

Read the rest of the article here.