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Happy Friday Baseball fans. With the opening day of the 2010 baseball season less than a week away (Opening game is a big one – April 4th, Sox v Yankees, 1am Irish time – be there!), this is as good a time as any to do a baseball book review. But it’s also sceintific!

Moneyball is one of the best selling sports books of all time. It is subtitled “The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” and it chronicles the paradigm shift to a then newly touted science technique called “sabermetrics”, which was brought in to the game in 2002, and began the transition of baseball from the historical way of scouting players to the new technique which involved statistics, statistics and you guessed it more statistics. It was the brain child of the newly installed manager of the (at the time) unsuccessful Oakland Athletics (locally known as the A’s – how do they come up with them), which rethought the basis on which a selector scouted for potential players. Traditionally a value was put on traits such as foot speed, defence and strength but this new system identified success based on stats for results  - such as the ability to get on base.

The story revolves around Billy Beane, a former player who has taken over the A’s, a team with little to no money compared to the powerhouses of LA, Boston and New York. It specifically focuses on the 2002 draft, the process of acquiring new players, and examines how Billy and his team are using these new techniques as opposed to the old school baseball scouting methods. For a game steeped so long in tradition, it was a bold and brave move to employ such an outside the box technique, and it is set against the entertain backdrop of Billy and his team (of statistical misfits), it makes for a fascinating page-turner.

I listened to the audio book recently (after having read the book a couple of years ago), and there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments. You will also find yourself Googling Kevin Youkilis, a fat slow third baseman, who earned himself the title of “the Greek God of Walks.” I especially love the part where Scott Hatteberg, a rookie in his first major league match steps up to bat and ended up geting whats known as easy double (essentially walks to 2^nd base). However, his childhood idol Don Mattingly was the first baseman for the Yankees that day and was not long from retirement. So to the shock of everyone in the stadium, Hatty stops on the first base bag instead, just so he can grab a few moments with the great man. You will find yourself trying to find pictures of “The Creature” a guy drafted without ever being seen, just because he seemed like a bargain. You will try to search for the events of Sept 4th, 2002 in Oakland on Youtube. You will try to find pictures of Chad Bradford scraping his knuckles as he pitches. And all your searches will add a little entertainment to your day!

It’s considered one of the best sports books of all time, and is oft cited by business leaders who are searching for alternatives ways around old problems. Highly recommended and you don’t need to be a baseball nut to appreciate. Far from it, although there is a risk you will become one!

To read more on baseball, check out Ireland’s best sports blog, dedicated to American sports.

Also coming soon to a cinema near you in 2011, Moneyball the movie – link.

-Brian (bhc at lifescience.ie)

Written by Brian Christensen

Brian graduated from TCD with a degree in Medicinal Chemistry in 2005, and has worked in science recruitment since. He currently specialises in Pharma, Biotech and Connected Health