Tuesday, December 29, 2009

SI's 5 most influential sports books of the decade

One title on Sports Illustrated's list of the most influential sports books of the decade:
Moneyball (2003)

Say what you want about Billy Beane's trophy case in Oakland, but when you read the first 50 pages of Michael Lewis' bestseller, chances are you'll never watch a baseball game the same way again. Moneyball has more than just entered the baseball lexicon; it's changed the way front offices conduct business. Sure, the A's haven't won a World Series adhering to Beane's once-unconventional strategies; but three of the teams that hired sabermetric analysts in Moneyball's wake have (Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees). Stay tuned for the on-again, off-again film adaptation starring Brad Pitt as Beane himself.
Read about another book on the list.

Moneyball also appears on Richard J. Tofel's list of the five best books on baseball as a business.

--Marshal Zeringue