Moneyball by Michael Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I hadn’t watched baseball in a few years, disgusted both by the home team jacking up ticket prices once the team started winning more and by everyone and their dog wearing the home team’s merchandise — now that the home team was winning.
This was a much easier read for me than The Big Short, possibly because I cared about the characters more. I found myself looking up the players on Wikipedia to make sure things turned out okay for them. I also discovered that I find Billy Beane more attractive than I find Brad Pitt.
I finished this book with a greater appreciation of baseball and the backroom nerds who make it awesome. I want to start watching baseball again. And while I’ll start watching the home team again, I’ll keep an eye on those amazing Oakland As.
Michael Lewis’ writing is fantastic, as long as you don’t read his epilogues. If you read his books a while after they are released, you’re treated to an extra epilogue about how fantastic his book was and all of the stir it caused. I wish he didn’t do that, because the self-praise leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!
