‘Moneyball’ proven to be ‘a farce,’ ex-MLB manager Buck Showalter says

Former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter is not the biggest fan of “Moneyball.”

Showalter discussed the movie during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me With Dan Dakich.”

“‘Moneyball’ was proven to be a farce. People in the game know it was just a Hollywood thing; no one talks about the four starting pitchers they had. It was, you know, they embellished a lot of things to make it work, but most people in the game know it was complete fiction,” Showalter said.

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New York Mets manager Buck Showalter (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

“That really wasn’t what happened out there, even the author has talked about it. So, when I hear somebody mention ‘Moneyball,’ it has a different connotation to people that are on the field. They always kind of roll their eyes and go, ‘Yeah, right.’ Nobody mentions Barry Zito and [Mark] Mulder and all those guys that were pitching for those guys,” Showalter added. 

The Oakland A’s had four good starting pitchers who made more than 30 starts that season and helped win 103 games en route to an AL West title. Barry Zito had a 23-5 record, pitching a 2.75 ERA over 229.1 innings; Tim Hudson had a 15-9 record to go along with a 2.98 ERA over 238.1 innings; Mark Mulder was 19-7 with a 3.47 ERA over 207.1 innings; and Cory Lidle had a 3.89 ERA over 192 innings.

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New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) and manager Buck Showalter (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

The strong starting pitching of that A’s team was not something that was mentioned in “Moneyball.”

Showalter was also not pleased with how the film portrayed then-A’s manager Art Howe.

“They were a good team. You know what makes a good manager is good players, you have a good manager … I didn’t like the way they portrayed Art Howe there. Art was a good baseball man,” Showalter said.

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Buck Showalter says “‘Moneyball’ was proven to be a farce.” (Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

Showalter would know what makes a good manager as he won MLB’s manager of the year award four times in his 22-year managerial career. 

Showalter has managed five different clubs in his career: the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and, most recently, the Mets in 2023.

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