“Moneyball” – Movie Questions

Student’s Name: _______________________

1. How much does Billy say the payroll is for the Oakland Athletics team?

2. Who does Grady, the guy sitting on the right, tell Billy that he wants to try and replace?

3. How much cash does Billy want for Mark Guthrie when he’s negotiating in the meeting?

4. What does Peter Brand say he does?

5. What did Peter study at university?

6. What team supposedly offered Billy an offer to join professional baseball?

7. Who did Billy buy from the Cleveland Indians?

8. How many player evaluations did Pete ended up completing for Billy?

9. In the meeting, Billy is looking for three players with an On Base Percentage (OBP) of what?

10. What player did the guys have doubts about because they say his legs are gone?

11. What position does Billy want Scott to play at?

12. How old is Billy’s daughter?

14. What does Billy want Pete to do during the meeting that he had with him?

15. What was Billy’s daughter supposedly worried about when she had a talk with him?

16. Who does Billy try to trade on the phone in order to get Hatteberg to play?

17. What team did Jeremy Giambi get traded to?

18. Whose paying half of David Justice’s salary?

19. Who do Billy and Pete try to trade for when they’re making all the phone calls?

20. Who called Billy on his car phone to congratulate him and say good luck?

21. How big of a lead did the Athletics blow in the intense baseball game?

22. Who did Art tell to go up to bat for Byrnesy?

23. Who do the Athletics play in the first round of the playoffs?

24. What team/city did Billy go visit for a potential contract after the season was over?

25. Where did Pete want to take Billy to show him something?
Critical Thinking Questions from the Movie Student’s Name: _____________________
Instructions: Once finishing the movie, answer the following questions individually with your own
opinions.

I. Do you think it’s fair that one team has more money to spend on their players than another
team if the owner of the team wants to spend extra money on their players? Or do you think
every team should spend equal amounts of money on their players? Why or why not?

II. Why do you think Billy doesn’t watch any of the games in the stadium? Do you think he’s
superstitious? Why or why not?

III. Billy mentioned that he doesn’t travel with the team because he can’t have personal
relationships with the players in case he has to cut them or trade them. What do you think
about that boundary Billy puts between him and the players? Do you think that is a smart
decision? Why or why not?

IV. The film touched a little bit on what’s it’s like for a player/manager to have kids while on a
professional sports team. What do you think that would be like for the kid and the parent?
Why? What difficulties do you think would exist with their family dynamics? Why? Are there
any benefits that might exist? Why or why not?

V. Do you think Billy should have taken the offer of $12,500,000 to join the Boston Red Sox and
be one of the highest paid general managers in history? Why or why not? What risks would he
be taking by accepting the position? Why? In what ways would he benefit by taking the
position? How so?
Individual Reflection Questions Student’s Name: _____________________
Instructions: Once finishing the movie, answer the following reflection questions individually. Try to really
reflect on your own experiences and history as you’re answering the questions and feel free to write any
additional information you would like related to the question.

A. If you had the offer to have a full ride scholarship to a prestigious university or accept a
sizeable check from a major professional sports team in hopes that you will be the next star
athlete, what do you think you would choose? Why? What important factors might influence
your decision? Why?

B. Billy seemed to have doubts that his 12-year-old daughter should have a cell phone at her
age. What age do you think is appropriate for a child to have a cell phone and/or smart phone?
Why do you say that age? What benefits exist for having a cell phone at that age? What risks
might exist?

C. Do you tend to make decisions based off of statistics and/or facts? Or do you tend to base
them off of your gut, experience, and/or intuition? Explain your reasoning. Provide an example
from your life to help strengthen your opinion.

D. Billy basically told Pete that he never gets over losing. Is there a loss that you’ve had in sports
or in your personal life that you have never been able to fully get over? Why do you think that
is? What happened? How did you feel? What things or people have helped you to try and feel
better from that loss? How so?

E. If you were Billy, would you have accepted the contract with the Red Sox for a lot more
money or would you have stayed with your current position like Billy did? Explain your reason
why. Do you consider yourself to be a very competitive and/or money driven person? Why or
why not?
Individually Writing Essay Student’s Name: ___________________________
Billy Beane dramatically changed the way he ran his team and decided to base his roster on statistics
rather than the input from his scouts and intuition. Imagine that you are a general manager for a
professional sports team of your choosing and you need to create your roster for the season. Write an
essay explaining who you would trust more to help you win games/matches and ultimately win the
championship: a computer designed roster based on numerous key statistics, or a roster based on the
wisdom, experience, and intuition of your team’s scouts and your personal gut. Your essay should be
about 4-5 paragraphs long. Use an extra sheet of paper if you need more space.
Group Activity Students’ Names: ____________________________________________
Get into a small group and choose a sport that your group would like to try and manage. Imagine that
you are all the general manager of a team and you need to choose a roster based solely off of statistics.
Your group has to decide on only 3 types of statistics (with respect to your chosen sport) to base your
roster off of. For example, if you choose football, your statistics could be touchdowns, interceptions, and
average running yards per game. Feel free to think outside of the box and choose any type of statistic
that you think would be important to help your team win games. Once your group has decided on the 3
types of statistics, explain in detail why your group chose those particular statistics and how you think
they will help you win more games and/or beat your competition. Once finished, be prepared to share
your information with the rest of the class/groups.
Teacher Answer Key – “Moneyball” – Short Answer Questions
1. How much does Billy say the payroll is for the Oakland Athletics team? 38 million
2. Who does Grady, the guy sitting on the right, tell Billy that he wants to try and replace?
Giambi
3. How much cash does Billy want for Mark Guthrie when he’s negotiating in the meeting?
200K
4. What does Peter Brand say he does? Mostly player analysis
5. What did Peter study at university? Economics
6. What team supposedly offered Billy an offer to join professional baseball? The New York
Mets
7. Who did Billy buy from the Cleveland Indians? Peter
8. How many player evaluations did Pete ended up completing for Billy? 51
9. In the meeting, Billy is looking for three players with an On Base Percentage (OBP) of what?
.364
10. What player did the guys have doubts about because they say his legs are gone? David
Justice
11. What position does Billy want Scott to play at? First base
12. How old is Billy’s daughter? 12
13. Who wrote a book about baseball statistics and had the idea about Moneyball? Bill James
14. What does Billy want Pete to do during the meeting that he had with him? Go on the road
with the team
15. What was Billy’s daughter supposedly worried about when she had a talk with him? About
him losing his job
16. Who does Billy try to trade on the phone in order to get Hatteberg to play? Peña
17. What team did Jeremy Giambi get traded to? The Philadelphia Phillies
18. Whose paying half of David Justice’s salary? The New York Yankees
19. Who do Billy and Pete try to trade for when they’re making all the phone calls? Ricardo
Rincon
20. Who called Billy on his car phone to congratulate him and say good luck? Sharon (his ex-
wife)
21. How big of a lead did the Athletics blow in the intense baseball game? 11 to nothing
22. Who did Art tell to go up to bat for Byrnesy? Hatteberg
23. Who do the Athletics play in the first round of the playoffs? Minnesota Twins
24. What team/city did Billy go visit for a potential contract after the season was over? Boston
Red Sox
25. Where did Pete want to take Billy to show him something? The video room