We finished watching a baseball movie called Moneyball, it talks about using art and science to use money in the least amount as possible to pick players that would benefit the baseball team, Oakland Athletics, the most.
Here are some questions about this movie.
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)
The "Moneyball" approach that Billy Beane and Peter Brandt applied to the Oakland Athletics 2002 season was to buy the baseball players with the best statistics with as little money as possible. I would have to say it was both an "art" due to the effectiveness that the approach brought (won 20 times in a row), and a "science" because the approach only focused on the players that had the best stats/personality over the most paid/popular. The single statistic that the two boiled their value consideration down to was on-base percentage.
2) What is the equation used to calculate OBP? (In class research/discussion)
The equation that is used to calculate OPB is:
- H = Hits
- BB = Bases on Balls (Walks)
- HBP = Times Hit By a Pitch
- AB = At bats
- SF = Sacrifice Flies
Design is the plan/preparation for the construction of an object like a building or a machine.
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:
1 - The first situation was when Billy Beane used the Define the Problem step when his bosses kept straying away from the problem at hand, and Billy wanted to get his bosses to trace a few steps back to have them understand what the real problem at hand. The situation effectively shows the Define the Problem step because this step has the engineer focus on the problem at hand before doing anything.
2 - The second situation was when Billy Beane used the Refine step when he had to fire one of his own baseball players that he used the "Moneyball" approach on due to the player being a jerkface. The Refine step has the engineer make some changes if needed when they work with their selected apporach, Billy firing a poor personality baseball player shows the example of the Refine step.
3 - The third situation was when Billy Beane was meeting with his boss to preform the Communicate Results step. Billy would talk with his boss to discuss how well/poorly the team was going, and the basic numbers and stats they have right at the moment. The Communicate Results step has the engineer go over what happened in the end, and how well/poorly the apporach and conclusion went, and Billy showed this step when he had to meet with his boss about the team stats and conclusions.
5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)
1 - Providing direction or a vision for your followers
2 - Alignment in order to get the people to understand and follow the vision
3 - Comitment to have the people actually follow you into completing the vision
6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:
1 - 1st circumstance was when Billy stood up to the members of the board meeting to try to get the group to focus back at the problem at hand when the other members seemed lost on what to do.
2 - 2nd circumstance was when Peter Brandt had to find the best players in terms of stats, and had to bargan effectively in order to get the man the A's needed.
3 - 3rd circumstance was when Billy Beane fired one of his own Moneyball players after showing to the team that he was a jerk and a poor team player.
7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak? ___ : ___
A's record at the start of their winning streak was 68:51.
8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)? ___ : 1
The ratio simplified to roughly 1.3:1 wins to losses.
9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak? ___ games won.
A's record setting winning streak lasted for 20 games 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)
The odds of winning 20 games in a row are .0013% chance after you preform .57^20.
11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?
I believe that luck was a major factor in the success of the A's, but I also believe that the A's got the upper hand due to the "Moneyball" approach and the fact that the A's are composed of people of the best stats and OBP. This is what caused them to get such a record.
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.
I belive that Billy Beane did strickly apply the "science" of Moneyball to his management approach by searching and buying players with the best stats and OBP. There was indeed an "art" in his efforts as well. He broke from his Moneyball approach when he fired a young baseball player for being rude and a jerkface despite that Billy got him from the Moneyball approach.
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?
The author of the book was Michael Lewis. He also had written "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game," "Liar's Poker," and "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine." I believe that the theme to his writing is the importance money has played in history and how it had played in the individual lives of the people and buisness.
It's "Oscar Season", will Moneyball win the Oscar for any of the categories it's up for?
No it won't win any Oscars for any of the catigories it's up for.
