Last week, I caught an interview with writer Michael Lewis on NPR:
His new book is Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. It’s the story of how the Oakland A’s turned their team around and made history, winning 20 games in a row to set a new American League record. Lewis goes behind the scenes and finds a new kind of baseball knowledge.
I don’t follow baseball, and I certainly don’t follow the Oakland A’s, but Lewis discussed how the A’s applied statistics to baseball, drafting players undervalued by the market, and avoiding “flashy” players overvalued by the market. With next to no budget, they put together a strong team, emphasizing players without blazing footspeed (overvalued), but who could fatigue a pitcher by not swinging at questionable pitches (undervalued). (The site has archived audio — but a written transcript costs money…)