Sometimes You Have to Sacrifice a Player For the Sake of the Team

Imagine being in this position: You're a general manager for a sort of suck-tastic baseball team, with no money, one star player and thousands of fans criticizing your every move. What do you do?

Well, if you're Billy Beane, and this is the Oakland Athletics' 2002 season, you go with your gut, listen to a Yale Econ major who is more interested in stats than actual ball, and trade away your lone big-name baseman, Carlos Pena. Oh yeah, and as a result, your team sets the American League record by winning an unprecedented 20 games in a row.

So goes the story of Moneyball, last year's out-of-leftfield box office hit (Ha. Get it? Because it's a movie about baseball!). Based on Michael Lewis' book of the same name, Moneyball tells the true story of the A's 2002 season, as their general manager Beane (Brad Pitt) attempts to change the sports system with the help of his shlubby, sabermetric-minded assistant manager, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Along the way they come up against some very skeptical scouts and an antagonistic team manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who just don't understand why Beane can't play ball the old fashioned way.

Moneyball is out today on Blu-ray™, Combo Pack and DVD. Head here to order your copy now.