The Evolution of "Moneyball" and Its Impact on Baseball

The author of "Moneyball," Michael Lewis, reflects on the legacy of the book and its influence on the game of baseball, arguing that the data-driven approach has made the sport more boring.

The Oakland Athletics' innovative use of analytics, chronicled in the bestselling book "Moneyball," revolutionized the way baseball teams evaluate and acquire players. The math-driven strategy, which focused on finding value in undervalued players, helped the A's compete with teams with larger budgets.

Two decades later, other franchises have embraced the "Moneyball" philosophy, combining it with high payroll spending to gain an edge. However, the author of the book, Michael Lewis, believes that the data-driven approach has ultimately been detrimental to the sport.

The Evolution of "Moneyball" and Its Impact on Baseball

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Lewis lamented the impact of analytics on baseball, arguing that the focus on efficiency has stifled excitement and made the game less entertaining.

"I think that's true. It turns out that the smart way to play baseball is boring," Lewis said. "Don't steal bases. Don't swing at bad pitches. Position fielders so the ball is hit right to them. It does make what is already a pretty sedentary sport less kinetic. ... They are kind of addressing it now, making the bases bigger, not letting people shift. The problem is that it's already a slow sport in an age that doesn't like slow sports and if you're going to do it smart, you make it slower."

The Evolution of "Moneyball" and Its Impact on Baseball

Lewis pointed to the decline of colorful, tobacco-chewing players and the diminishing importance of managers as evidence of the homogenizing effect of analytics.

"It's much less fun having geeks from MIT running the baseball team than it was having colorful tobacco-chewing former players who you knew," he said. "It's much less fun when the manager is clearly less important, more like a middle manager. The way reason permeated the front offices has bled onto the field, and the players are more reasonable, more rational and not likely to go off half-cocked."

The Evolution of "Moneyball" and Its Impact on Baseball

He added that he "kind of" agreed that "Moneyballing baseball" made it "more boring."

Despite Lewis's critical assessment, many executives in the game, including Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Andrew Friedman and New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, credit Billy Beane, the general manager who pioneered the "Moneyball" approach in Oakland, for transforming the way organizations are run.

The A's, who are set to move to Las Vegas in the coming years, will wrap up their likely final season in Oakland next year. Their legacy as the pioneers of the "Moneyball" revolution will continue to be debated, but there is no doubt that their innovative approach has left an indelible mark on the game of baseball.