Moneyball Page #10

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at the Coliseum.

ANNOUNCER 5:

Tejada, up the middle.

The A's have won 19 in a row!

ANNOUNCER 10:

The 1906 White Sox,

the 1947 New York Yankees

have company.

Nineteen in a row.

ANNOUNCER 11:

The A's have a date with destiny.

They're going for the all-time

American League record,

CALLER 1:
We're going to 20!

We're gonna take the AL record

to 20, baby!

[CELL PHONE RINGS]

BILLY:

Don't tell me the score, Pete.

SHARON [OVER SPEAKER]:

No, Billy, it's me.

Sharon?

Yeah.

You have a second?

Yeah, what's up?

Well, I didn't actually

expect you to pick up.

I was gonna leave a message.

Um, Casey and I, we're here

and watching the game at home.

And I just wanted to say...

you did good, Billy.

We're really proud of you.

I appreciate it, Sharon.

Thank you.

Good luck.

Okay.

Oh, Casey wants to talk to you.

Hang on.

CASEY:

Are you on your way

to the stadium?

No, I'm on my way to Visalia

to see our minor-league team.

Turn around, please, Dad.

No way, Jose.

Turn around. Come on, Dad.

Nope. Not gonna happen.

You're not gonna jinx it.

I'll talk to you later, sweetheart.

I love you.

[CELL PHONE BEEPS]

Sh*t.

ANNOUNCER 1 [ON RADIO]:

One out here in the fourth,

and if you're just joining us,

you missed a lot.

And the pitch to Raul Ibanez.

Strike one.

ANNOUNCER 2:

I think my recap will be simple.

The A's scored six in the first,

one in the second, four in the third.

ANNOUNCER 1:

And people would be shocked

if you just did that. Heh-heh-heh.

Eleven to nothing, the A's do lead.

Sh*t.

Foul off the foot of Ibanez...

[]

CROWD [CHANTING]:

Let's go, Oakland!

Let's go, Oakland!

[CHANTING CONTINUES]

ANNOUNCER 1 [OVER PA]:

Now batting, number 2,

catcher, Brent Mayne.

MAN 1:
Oakland!

MAN 2:
Here we go, Oakland!

PLAYER:

Two.

UMPIRE:

Safe.

ANNOUNCER 1 [OVER PA]:

Now batting,

number 18,

left fielder Raul Ibanez.

[]

[BAT CRACKS]

[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

Safe.

ANNOUNCER 2 [ON TV]:

And the A's now lead

by a score of 11 to 3.

ANNOUNCER 3:
A nice cushion,

but you don't wanna give teams life

and let them wedge their way

back in, even when you're--

[BAT CRACKS]

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[BAT CRACKS]

ANNOUNCER 3:

Nobody out, the bases loaded.

And Art Howe on the way to the

mound to make a pitching change.

And this game is still in a state

where it could get out of control

for the Athletics.

JONGEWAARD:

We're all told at some point we can

no longer play the children's game.

We just don't know

when that's gonna be.

Some of us are told at 18,

some of us are told at 40,

but we're all told.

ANNOUNCER 3:

Mike Sweeney with runners

at first and third.

It's an 11-to-7 game,

the A's in front.

Tam peering in for the sign.

Two out. Runners at first and third.

And the 3-2 delivery.

[]

MAN:

It's weird, Billy.

You wanna give up baseball

to become a scout?

BILLY:

I'm not a baseball player.

MAN:

Are you sure this is what you want?

ANNOUNCER 3:

The crowd is roaring.

Koch is ready. One-two pitch.

Alicea puts it in play,

a looper to left field for a base hit.

Around third, tearing for the plate,

here comes the tying run.

Sliding safe.

And the ball game is tied at 11-all.

Holy Toledo.

The A's have blown

an 11 -to-nothing lead.

This is the specter of a development

that has been lurking now

ever since the five-run fourth inning

by the Royals.

And the A's date with destiny

is on hold right now.

[CROWD CHEERING]

ART:

Hatteberg. Hattie.

Grab a bat.

You're hitting for Byrnesy.

Come on, let's go.

Get yourself loose.

ANNOUNCER 1 [OVER PA]:

Hitting for Eric Byrnes,

number 10, Scott Hatteberg.

[]

ANNOUNCER 3:

In your typical A's fashion.

They want a base runner here.

Scott Hatteberg is so adept

at drawing walks.

He's looking for Hatteberg

to get on base,

maybe bring in a pinch runner.

CROWD [CHANTING]:

Let's go, Oakland!

Let's go, Oakland!

[BAT CRACKS]

[]

ANNOUNCER 3:

That one is gone!

And it's 20 consecutive victories

for the Oakland Athletics

on an unbelievable night

when they lost

an 11 -to-nothing lead

and now they win it.

[CHEERING]

The crowd comes back

to insane life.

How do you explain it?

Crazy. Just plain crazy.

Hatteberg is mobbed

at home plate.

In 103 years

of American League baseball,

the Athletics have accomplished

what no one has before.

They have won

BILLY:

It's hard not to be romantic

about baseball.

This kind of thing,

it's fun for the fans.

It sells tickets and hot dogs.

Doesn't mean anything.

PETER:

Billy, we just won

And what's the point?

PETER:

We just got the record.

Man, I've been doing this for...

Listen, man.

I've been in this game

a long time.

I'm not in it for a record,

I'll tell you that.

I'm not in it for a ring.

That's when

people get hurt.

If we don't win the last game

of the Series,

they'll dismiss us.

Billy--

I know these guys.

I know the way they think,

and they will erase us.

And everything

we've done here,

none of it'll matter.

Any other team wins

the World Series, good for them.

They're drinking champagne,

they get a ring.

But if we win,

on our budget, with this team...

we'll have changed the game.

And that's what I want.

I want it to mean something.

[]

ANNOUNCER 1:

The A's going to the play-offs

with the West Division title.

ANNOUNCER 2:

Forgive the A's

if they're not celebrating.

They have been here before,

when Oakland went up two games

to none on the Yanks in the ALDS,

and went nowhere

after losing three straight.

With a win today over the Twins,

Oakland moves into the ALCS

for the first time since 1992.

ANNOUNCER 3:

But remember one thing.

Percentages hold up over a season,

but for one game, one at bat,

throw the percentages

out the window.

[CROWD CHEERING]

ANNOUNCER 4:

What the Minnesota Twins exposed

is the fact that the Oakland A's

were fundamentally

not a sound baseball team.

They had a flawed concept that

started with the general manager

and the brain trust thinking

they could reinvent baseball.

You can't approach baseball

from a statistical,

bean-counting point of view.

It's won on the field

with fundamental play.

You have to steal, you have to bunt,

you have to sacrifice.

You gotta get men

in scoring position,

and you gotta bring them in.

And you don't do that

with a bunch of statistical gimmicks.

Nobody reinvents this game.

[]

[BOTTLE CAP CLATTERS]

[LIQUID POURING]

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Yeah.

[]

HENRY:

Due respect to the Coliseum,

but this is a ballpark.

BILLY:

Yes, it is.

We're gonna have

some lunch in a little bit.

Why don't I have

some coffee sent up?

Denise?

HENRY:

Thank you, Denise.

BILLY:
Thanks.

You're welcome.

You know, it's her birthday

and I need to get her a present,

but she's usually the one

that does that for me.

So do you

have any ideas?

Scarf.

You mean like wool?

No, I meant what women wear with...

You know, decorative.

Ah. And where would

I get something like that?

No disrespect, I just lost in five

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