Former A's Press Officer Recalls the 'Moneyball' Season

As a high school pitcher for Marin Catholic, Novato homeboy Jim Young once struck out Barry Bonds - although on his next at-bat the San Mateo slugger took him downtown. Fortunately, Young's baseball career didn't end there.

Between the years 2000 and 2008, Young served as public relations director for the Oakland A’s. "I was responsible for all of the team’s media relations and publicity efforts and also served as the primary liaison with the players," he told Novato Patch in an email interview. "I also traveled with the team on a regular basis."

That means, of course, that Young was literally "inside baseball" during the epic 2002 Major League Baseball season depicted in this year's Academy Award-nominted film, Moneyball.

With the coming in mind, we asked Young about that season, and the film. His generous resposes follow.

· What’s your current connection to Novato?

I was raised in Novato, but moved away after I graduated from USF in 1985. I returned to Novato in July of 2003, where I still choose to make my home, despite a 62-mile commute to work. It still has that small-town feel I remember growing up, but I’m happy to see all of the development that has taken place over the years.

· What was your role with the Oakland A’s during the Moneyball period, the 2002 baseball season?

I caught the team at a very exciting time. During my eight years with the team, we went to the playoffs five times, had two MVPs, a Cy Young Award winner and two Rookies of the Year.

The 2002 season was incredible. After winning 102 games the year before and then losing Jason Giambi in the off-season, many had picked the A’s to finish near the bottom of the division. But we still had some of the best young talent in baseball, with Eric Chavez, Miguel Tejada, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito all entering their prime, along with Jermaine Dye and Ramon Hernandez. We picked up David Justice and Scott Hatteberg in the offseason, two players many thought were past their prime. We also added Cory Lidle, rest his soul, who was the best pitcher on the planet for a month and a half.

The 20-game winning streak was amazing, to say the least. I remember early in the streak Justice had a ritual of saying, “Well, you can’t win four in a row until you win three in a row,” and so on. The mantra took on a life of its own. We won the last five games of a home stand in August and then I accompanied the team on a 10-game road trip to Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City.

Tejada had a huge series against Minnesota in late August which I think clinched the MVP for him. I was on the field near the corner of the dugout when Hatteberg hit the walk-off home run against Kansas City for the 20th straight win. Unfortunately, the season didn’t end like we would have hoped, as we lost to a hot Twins team in the playoffs.

· Was the book by Michael Lewis an accurate representation of the period and issues?

By in large, yes. Michael came to spring training that season on assignment for New York Times magazine. After spending a week with us, he called his editor and said he thought he had something much bigger here. He had virtually unlimited access to the team and front office meetings. He was a pleasure to work with, although our beat writers were more than a little jealous about the access he was receiving.

· How about the movie – in general, did it do justice to the story?

The movie was very entertaining but of course, it took some liberties for story-telling purposes. Don’t forget, the A’s were coming off a 102-win season the year before and weren’t exactly the rag-tag bunch as depicted in the movie. The 2002 team was loaded with Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Chavez, Dye, and Ramon Hernandez, to name a few. Tejada won the MVP and Zito the Cy Young. That was the core of the team.

· Any “spot-on” moments or characterizations in the movie that you appreciated?

The highlights of the 20th win gave me chills all over again. Chris Pratt was pretty good playing Scott Hatteberg and Stephen Bishop was excellent in playing David Justice. Of course, Brad Pitt was amazing.

The 20-game winning streak was amazing too, to say the least. I remember early in the streak Justice had a ritual of saying, “Well, you can’t win four in a row until you win three in a row,” and so on. The mantra took on a life of its own. We won the last five games of a home stand in August and then I accompanied the team on a 10-game road trip to Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City and we came home riding a 15-game winning streak. What a trip!

· How about Brad Pitt as Billy Beane? Was the performance anything like Billy?

Unbelievable. Brad was spot on. He many so many of Billy’s mannerisms down to a tee.

· How about Jonah Hill as assistant GM Peter Brand?

The movie took great liberties in casting this role. Our assistant GM was Paul DePodesta, a Harvard graduate who was in his fourth year as Billy’s assistant in 2002. He did spend some time with the Indians organization and paid his dues as an advanced scout. He had a strong baseball background, unlike the Peter Brand character.

· How about Philip Seymour Hoffman as the manager, Art Howe?

It was a very unfair depiction of Art, who is one of the nicest guys you can ever hope to work with. He was far from the curmudgeon he was portrayed as in the movie. There was definitely some “creative friction” between Billy and Art, but that’s not uncommon over a course of a long season.

· Were “you” in the movie? Any character or bit-part you thought might be based on you?

There was a brief scene where the PR Director was holding the media in the clubhouse hallway after an intense meeting in the manager’s office, which brought back a lot of memories. I think the PR Director was played by Eric Winzenried, but wasn’t referred to be name.

· Did the movie accurately convey the central point of the book, that with smart trades and attention to statistics, a contending team can be built without big stars?

The movie gave the impression the A’s were made up of a bunch of misfits and castoffs, which couldn’t be more far from the truth. The team was absolutely loaded with some of the best young talent in the game... We were able to add a few missing pieces in Scott Hatteberg, David Justice and John Mabry.

The whole concept of Moneyball is more than a means on how to interpret statistical data. It’s about capitalizing on inefficiencies in the market and taking a critical view and challenging conventional thinking in all parts of your organization.

Branch Rickey was an advocate of on-base percentage when he was running the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sandy Alderson, who preceded Billy as GM, also used Sabermetrics to evaluate players. Billy continued to embrace this organizational philosophy when he was appointed GM in 1998. Where the Yankees were quick to sign Roger Clemens for $15 million, the A’s got the same, if not better production out for Cory Lidle, for example.

· What’s your job now at Stanford University?

I serve as assistant athletic director for communications and media relations for Stanford’s 35-sport athletic program. I work closely with football and oversee all publicity aspects of the other programs. My timing has been impeccable. After going 5-7 my first year in 2008, we have been on quite a run for the last three seasons.

· Will you be watching Oscar-night and rooting for Moneyball?

Absolutely. Both the movie and Brad Pitt are worthy of their nominations but I think this is George Clooney’s year.