In “Moneyball,” I play the Kansas City Royals catcher when the Oakland A’s are going for their 20th win in a row. I had played outfield at Tech, but the Orioles organization made me a catcher. When A’s first baseman Scott Hatteberg hits the walk-off home run in “Moneyball,” that’s me catching.
Playing pro baseball gave me the chance to see different countries, players and styles of playing. My last team was the Frederick (Md.) Keys, and a couple of days after I retired in 2010, I got a call from a buddy in California whose brother had acted in commercials. He told me about “Moneyball.” It was good timing.
Other than meeting big-name actors — Brad Pitt and his wife Angelina Jolie, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jonah Hill — the movie experience was a lot of ex-pro baseball players trying to do a little acting. There was a lot of sitting around and retaking scenes. Hatteburg’s home run took a whole day to film, and it was just one swing.
I had read the book and understood what the movie-makers were going for in the story. I think they did a pretty good job. The ironic thing was the A’s didn’t win anything that year. But the movie did a good job of showing how pro baseball works.
In smaller markets, teams can’t take risks like the New York Yankees might. They have to be smart with their money and be assured that if they go after a player, that player can help. You’re not going to get any superstars that way, but you could put a pretty good nine on the field every year and give fans a good chance to see some wins. After a while, it’s hard for a team like that to compete. In a 162-game major league season, you have to have talent.
I think the “Moneyball” philosophy has only slightly impacted the major leagues. Smaller market teams may be more likely to promote players instead of going out and paying top dollar for a superstar.
The movie experience didn’t change the way I look at the importance of talent. Coaching at the college level, my outlook is different because we are looking at what we will need in two to three years. We look for players with potential for growth and improvement. The movie was just something I did for fun.
