Moneyball by Michael Lewis Reading Log 3

The Enlightenment
This chapter goes back to a past setting when Billy Beane as a professorial baseball player. Billy Beane was drafted high in the draft by the Mets along with Daryl Strawberry. Except Billy was projected to become a pro much quicker than Strawberrry, so they decided to put Billy with more advanced players. It talked about Billy on and off the field and how he acted the same exact way in these situations. The Mets traded him to the Minnesota Twins who traded him to the Detroit Tigers who then traded them to the Oakland Athletics! People were confused about his style of play in the game. In the game, he would have horrible statistics and end up becoming benched. Surprisingly, while he was in practice he would have amazing physical talent to play the game. Coaches were outstandingly surprised how his play style was great in practice, but terrible in the game. It turns out that his inability to hit well in the game was a psychological problem and not a mental one. He felt claustrophobic in the batter's box because he was born to move around. This is the reason he was considered a shrinking player and had to talk to the team's psychiatrist on a daily basis. Eventually this slump of not playing well forced Billy into retirement, but he had an odd request. Billy talked to the front office of the Oakland Athletics and asked if he could be an advanced scout. This was a weird situation for everybody because nobody had given up to play in the Major League of Baseball to become a scout. All of the scouts wanted to play professional baseball, but none of them did. They accepted the request because they did not consider an advanced scout a major job. Billy's decision made Chris Pittaro do the same when he retired. However, Billy's wife had left him after he made the decision to retire and continue to be apart of the game. Billy ended up becoming quite successful as a scout in the Oakland Athletic Organization.

My reflection upon this chapter was that it was like "a blast from the past." The Enlightenment reflected on Billy in his earlier days with pro baseball and showed how significant all these aspects were that lead to his job to become a scout. Most people were doubtful of him at first, but they grew to acknowledge the fact. These traits that Billy had would be highly respected by anybody in the world today. I believe Billy is maturing and becoming a significant part of the Oakland Athletic Organization and I hope this story continues to grow on me.