Rewatched this and it pissed me off. I grew up a baseball stats nerd. I loved the math behind it. I was obsessed and I originally majored in Sport Management with a minor in Applied Statistics at umich with the dream of becoming a general manager (switched to a history major but that’s not important). This movie felt like it was made by someone bitter about the way baseball has evolved. It plays like an old scout’s rant against the game embracing analytics. Yet, the way it dunks on statistics is beyond stupid. In this movie, the projected number one pick can’t hit the curveball, but the stats show he can. A “traditional scout” notices he can’t hit the curveball due to a hitch in his swing, and instead of drafting him, they find someone more talented than him… someone with zero college stats. Better yet, they find this player the day of the draft through a game of catch. The guy they found had never played a single D1 game, yet he was supposedly the most talented player alive. Like talk about the most convenient plot ever. I can understand someone liking this if they’re not into baseball, but if you like stats and sports, this is the dumbest movie ever. It just goes against so much what I like about baseball.
Rewatched this and it pissed me off. I grew up a baseball stats nerd. I loved the math behind it. I was obsessed and I originally majored in Sport Management with a minor in Applied Statistics at umich with the dream of becoming a general manager (switched to a history major but that’s not important). This movie felt like it was made by someone bitter about the way baseball has evolved. It plays like an old scout’s rant against the game embracing analytics. Yet, the way it dunks on statistics is beyond stupid. In this movie, the projected number one pick can’t hit the curveball, but the stats show he can. A “traditional scout” notices he can’t hit the curveball due to a hitch in his swing, and instead of drafting him, they find someone more talented than him… someone with zero college stats. Better yet, they find this player the day of the draft through a game of catch. The guy they found had never played a single D1 game, yet he was supposedly the most talented player alive. Like talk about the most convenient plot ever. I can understand someone liking this if they’re not into baseball, but if you like stats and sports, this is the dumbest movie ever. It just goes against so much what I like about baseball.
