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Billy Beane, as portrayed in the film, was a Jerk


Not sure if sure if the portrayal of Billy was accurate but I found it hard to like Billy’s character because he was needlessly rude to the A’s manager and scouts who had come up under the traditional system and been integral to the A’s earlier success. Billy could have taken 30 minutes to explain why he felt their old methods would no longer bring them success, that he felt compelled to take a chance on the moneyball analytics and have Peter explain a little about the theory and implications.

Most of the old guard probably wouldn’t have been persuaded of the new direction but they wouldn’t have taken the changes personally and likely wouldn’t have resisted as much. Billy just treated them like idiots and, in the case of the scouts, seemed to be trying to provoke them into quitting. But Billy had been as ignorant as they only a week prior. Peter’s analytical approach had been a revelation to him as well, so why be an asshole to those a step behind him?

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Good post. I never thought about it from this perspective. The movie made the scouts look like morons and even arrogant in some respects yet Billy was introducing a completely unconventional and largely unprecedented strategy. They were entitled to some explanation from him which might have tempered their resentment. I suspect the tense exchanges were manufactured by writers for dramatic effect but I don’t know the true story

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Thank you. I bet you’re right that it was written that way for dramatic effect. The writers went out of their way to portray Beane as a loving father, probably to balance out the scenes where he’s abusive to those he managed.

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I think he did give them enough explanation about the on-base percentage, they just weren't buying it.

But I agree the butting heads was most likely script dramatics to improve the story. I mean, the Von Trapp family's escape from Nazi Austria was thrilling in The Sound of Music, but in reality they just got on a train and left Austria.

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But Billy had been as ignorant as they only a week prior. Peter’s analytical approach had been a revelation to him as well, so why be an asshole to those a step behind him?


Forgetting the script dramatics for a moment and going on what we saw on the screen alone, Billy expected his baseball people to open up about the new metrics as he had - he was only holding them to his own standard. Remember that he never once argued with Pete about the metrics or told Pete he was nuts or stupid, he questioned him at length and was more concerned if Pete was willing to commit his plan to a whole team.

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IIRC, at the first meeting with his scouts after learning of Pete’s analytical approach, Billy brought Pete to meeting but didn’t introduce him. Nor did he explain at the outset that he’d decided to take a new analytical approach to player selection and their services were no longer needed. Instead, the way he “informed” the scouts of his new direction was to let them pitch their player recommendations and repeatedly shoot them down in a dismissive fashion. I thought all of Billy’s dealings with the scouts and many with the team’s manager were demeaning.

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Watch again. He told them several times their approach to scouting was something he was trying to change, most specifically the on-base percentage stat, which every scout in the room refused to get on board with. When he kept mentioning players that didn't have high batting averages but got on base more than many of the players that did have high averages, they continued to fight him.

He also never told any of the scouts that their services would no longer be required. The only one who was fired was the fictional Grady who grabbed Bill and told him to fuck himself. The rest of the scouts stayed but were (presumably) instructed to look for hidden value in ballplayers by Pete's metrics.

But you are right in that he didn't introduce Pete first (which he should have done) and open the meeting with his introduction and an introduction to the new metrics they were going to try, but even when Billy gave them a speech about not being able to afford the players the scouts wanted but to try to find undervalued ballplayers by the new metric, they continued to resist. Whether they did in real life is unknown and doesn't address your point about Billy's portrayal in the film.

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I don’t have time to rewatch the film now. But I’ve seen it twice, the second time within the past few months. Both times I got the impression Billy was callous and that he was likely trying to provoke Grady to quit so he wouldn’t have to fire him. Given the approach Billy took with his subordinates — in the film, at least — the adverse reactions of the scouts and manger seemed entirely predictable. I think a better GM, or simply a better person, would have treated them respectfully and persuaded some or all of the merits of trying his new approach.

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