Most people believe that baseball is won on the field with a combination of clean fielding, impressive at bats, homeruns, and teamwork. “Moneyball” forever changed the way fans look at the game of baseball. Based on a true story, “Moneyball” follows the challenges of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane, depicted by Brad Pitt. Beane struggles in competing against the New York Yankees of the world with a budget of only $39 million.

Beane finds inspiration in Yale graduate Peter Brant, portrayed by Jonah Hill. Beane is introduced to a numbers game approach to scouting, where instead of using traditional methods to build Oakland’s future team, Brandt suggests using baseball statistics to discover undervalued players to compete in a buyer’s market.

Beane and Brant rate players on their ability to get on base, among other methods. Most managers and scouts resisted Beane’s methods and thought his use of “Sabermetrics” could never work. Beane puts together a team of players that typically would have never been given major roles, and managesto build a surprisingly successful team. After The Athletics magical season, other teams would adapt similar methods that would eternally change the game of baseball.

The film does an excellent job of portraying the hardships of underfunded teams and illustrating a great history of the Oakland Athletics. Both sports fans and those who don’t follow sports will thoroughly enjoy this inspiring movie that portrays a fascinating inside look at how baseball actually works.

Surprisingly, there isn’t much portrayal of the actual game of baseball throughout the film; instead, the movie focuses more on the business aspect of the sport. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill combine to form the perfect team, as Hill compliments Pitt’s intense and stoic character with his perfect amount of comic relief.