Why Moneyball is One of the Greatest Sports Movies

12 years after its initial release, we discuss what makes Bennett Miller's 2011 film 'Moneyball' one of the best sports movies in cinematic history. We also discuss the differences between the film and the real life story centered around the 2002 Oakland Athletics.

It's been over eleven years since the Best Picture-nominated film, Moneyball, was released to theaters. The film was based off a best-seller by Michael Lewis, with the same title.

Directed by Bennett Miller and written by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball quickly became a baseball movie classic.

The film differs from the real life story quite a bit.

The A's had the third-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball in 2002, and still managed to win 103 games, and with it, the American League West. That part of the story is true.

But Miller's film failed to mention the three dominant starting pitchers the A's had on their roster that season: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, all of whom played a big role in the club's success.

The film also failed to mention that in addition to having the league's Cy Young, the A's also had the American League's Most Valuable Player, an honor shortstop Miguel Tejada would receive.

Jonah Hill's character "Peter Brand" isn't a real person, either. He is inspired by former A's assistant general manager Paul DePodesta.

The movie does however focus on how Billy Beane and the Athletics' front office found that On Base Percentage was an undervalued metric, and how the A's went against the grain and challenged ideas in Major League Baseball. Beane's counter-cultural approach revolutionized the game of baseball at the Major League level, as other teams soon followed his lead.

Mario Lanza hosts a popular movie podcast called 'Staff Picks' on Apple Podcasts and Podbean. In the latest episode of 'Staff Picks', he welcomes me to join him for a deep-dive into the film, a fun conversation about the differences between the movie and real life, and other great baseball thoughts and memories from our lifetimes. It's a very fun podcast episode that you won't want to miss.

Subscribe to Staff Picks on Apple Podcasts, and never miss an episode.

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.