R: For being about baseball and math, two subjects I’m not crazy about, I loved this book. It was casual and understandable and had characters you legitimately were rooting for. Like hanging out with a buddy (who’s much smarter than you but doesn’t rub it in your face) as he starts telling you a story, and at first you think why are you telling me this? but eventually shifts into, I’ll get the next round just so you can keep going.
J: This book was a homerun (pun intended!) for me. I love books about underdogs and misfits and this book fits the bill. “Moneyball” is proof that a book about baseball and sabermetrics, two topics that usually make me cringe, can be wildly entertaining and engaging. Michael Lewis’s exalted style of writing is so intriguing that I’m considering his other books.
R: I would def. read more of his works as well. I’ve seen the adaptation for The Big Short (which surprised me as well, a movie about the housing crisis couldn’t be good, which it wasn’t, it was fantastic) so now I’m way more inclined to read it. His style has a flow which makes complicated mathematics easily digestible. And relatable. I found myself time and again thinking I could totally apply some of these ideas to my life: all you have to do is get on base, just get on base.
J: I loved reading about the players and characters he chose to highlight in the book. I was so absorbed by their stories that I found myself googling more information about them. I was most fascinated by Billy Beane and Chad Bradford. Billy Beane for his charm and eccentricity, Chad Bradford for his peculiar habits. I also enjoyed learning more about the game itself. I have never before considered the intellectual underpinnings of baseball. The book has given me a newfound appreciation for the sport. It’s always a delight when a book takes you down a path you think will lead to nowhere but instead leads you to places with an expansive, magnificent view.
R: I was googling, too. I had to see Jeremy Brown’s body shape and how a submariner throws a baseball. But, also, seeing the people involved somehow made the words on the page more real and relatable. I really admired Billy Beane, even with his faults, throughout the book. How even off the field he kept his eye on the ball and knew when to swing for the fences. But the same could be said about Scott Hatteberg or Bill James: this idea of being able to see what’s right in front of us, all of us, things which no one else seems to be seeing. This—this connected with me.
J: Ahhh, Jeremy Brown! How could I forget about Jeremy Brown? I’ll come clean. I, too, googled the body the scouts claimed did not belong in the big leagues. Like its subjects, “Moneyball” is itself an outlier. Any book that elevates my interest in baseball and statistical analysis deserves a rating of 5 stars. I may even buy tickets to a game soon.
R: Yeah, I’m going with the highest of high 5s for this one as well.
R: For being about baseball and math, two subjects I’m not crazy about, I loved this book. It was casual and understandable and had characters you legitimately were rooting for. Like hanging out with a buddy (who’s much smarter than you but doesn’t rub it in your face) as he starts telling you a story, and at first you think why are you telling me this? but eventually shifts into, I’ll get the next round just so you can keep going.
J: This book was a homerun (pun intended!) for me. I love books about underdogs and misfits and this book fits the bill. “Moneyball” is proof that a book about baseball and sabermetrics, two topics that usually make me cringe, can be wildly entertaining and engaging. Michael Lewis’s exalted style of writing is so intriguing that I’m considering his other books.
R: I would def. read more of his works as well. I’ve seen the adaptation for The Big Short (which surprised me as well, a movie about the housing crisis couldn’t be good, which it wasn’t, it was fantastic) so now I’m way more inclined to read it. His style has a flow which makes complicated mathematics easily digestible. And relatable. I found myself time and again thinking I could totally apply some of these ideas to my life: all you have to do is get on base, just get on base.
J: I loved reading about the players and characters he chose to highlight in the book. I was so absorbed by their stories that I found myself googling more information about them. I was most fascinated by Billy Beane and Chad Bradford. Billy Beane for his charm and eccentricity, Chad Bradford for his peculiar habits. I also enjoyed learning more about the game itself. I have never before considered the intellectual underpinnings of baseball. The book has given me a newfound appreciation for the sport. It’s always a delight when a book takes you down a path you think will lead to nowhere but instead leads you to places with an expansive, magnificent view.
R: I was googling, too. I had to see Jeremy Brown’s body shape and how a submariner throws a baseball. But, also, seeing the people involved somehow made the words on the page more real and relatable. I really admired Billy Beane, even with his faults, throughout the book. How even off the field he kept his eye on the ball and knew when to swing for the fences. But the same could be said about Scott Hatteberg or Bill James: this idea of being able to see what’s right in front of us, all of us, things which no one else seems to be seeing. This—this connected with me.
J: Ahhh, Jeremy Brown! How could I forget about Jeremy Brown? I’ll come clean. I, too, googled the body the scouts claimed did not belong in the big leagues. Like its subjects, “Moneyball” is itself an outlier. Any book that elevates my interest in baseball and statistical analysis deserves a rating of 5 stars. I may even buy tickets to a game soon.
R: Yeah, I’m going with the highest of high 5s for this one as well.