Character Relationship Map: Moneyball

Characters

• Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) — protagonist

  Billy Beane is the Oakland Athletics general manager and the central figure of the story. After experiencing an unimpressive playing career, he rejects traditional scouting and hires Peter Brand to bu...

• Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill) — protagonist

  Peter Brand is a Yale economics graduate who serves as a Cleveland advisor before Billy Beane hires him. He promotes sabermetrics and argues that teams should maximize on-base percentage rather than r...

• Art Howe (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) — supporting

  Art Howe is the Athletics manager, whose priorities conflict with Billy Beane and Peter Brand’s statistical strategy. Seeking a contract extension, he resists using players according to their on-base...

• Scott Hatteberg (played by Chris Pratt) — supporting

  Scott Hatteberg is an injured catcher whom Billy Beane and Peter Brand acquire as an undervalued player. They move him to first base because of his on-base skills, despite Art Howe’s resistance. Hatte...

• Jeremy Giambi (played by Nick Porrazzo) — minor
• Chad Bradford (played by Casey Bond) — minor

  Chad Bradford is a submarining relief pitcher whom Billy Beane and Peter Brand acquire as an inexpensive, undervalued player. His selection reflects their effort to find useful contributors overlooked...

• David Justice (played by Stephen Bishop) — supporting

  David Justice is an aging, experienced player acquired by Billy Beane and Peter Brand as part of their low-cost rebuilding strategy. Although he is less expensive than the star players lost through fr...

• Grady Fuson (played by Ken Medlock) — supporting

  Grady Fuson is the Athletics’ head scout and a supporter of traditional baseball evaluation. Billy Beane fires him after he refuses to abandon conventional scouting methods in favor of Peter Brand’s s...

• Carlos Peña (played by Gerardo Celasco) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Carlos Peña → Scott Hatteberg (Professional Roster Replacement) — One player's departure creates the playing time for the other.

  Peña is traded away specifically so that Hatteberg becomes the team's first baseman.

• Art Howe → Carlos Peña (Professional Manager And Favorite Player) — Howe prefers Peña over Hatteberg at first base, making him the center of the lineup fight.

  Peña is described as Howe's favored first baseman before Beane trades him away.

• Billy Beane → Jeremy Giambi (Professional GM And Traded Player) — A player who fits the stat profile but is cast off for intangible reasons.

  Despite Jeremy Giambi's strong on-base skills, Beane decides he lacks intangible qualities and trades him away.

• Billy Beane → Carlos Peña (Professional GM And Traded Pawn) — Peña is used as a roster weapon in Beane's power struggle with Howe.

  Beane trades away Howe's favored first baseman Carlos Peña to force Hatteberg into the lineup.

• Billy Beane → Chad Bradford (Professional GM And Underrated Pitcher) — An unconventional pitcher whose skill set is undervalued by traditional scouts.

  Beane and Brand acquire submariner Chad Bradford as part of their market inefficiency approach.

• Billy Beane → David Justice (Professional GM And Veteran Signing) — A low-cost veteran addition who embodies the team's bargain-market strategy.

  Beane and Brand acquire undervalued players like aging David Justice to build their OBP-driven roster.

• Billy Beane → Scott Hatteberg (Professional GM And Key Player) — Beane personally stakes his roster philosophy on Hatteberg's on-base skills.

  Beane and Brand acquire the injured catcher and then trade Carlos Peña specifically to force Art Howe to play Hatteberg at first base.

• Billy Beane → Grady Fuson (Professional GM And Head Scout) — Employment relationship ended because of a philosophical break over how to evaluate players.

  Beane fires head scout Grady Fuson after Fuson refuses to abandon his traditional scouting methods.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Jeremy Giambi → Scott Hatteberg (Alliance Teammate) — Brief teammates during the early portion of the A's campaign.

  Both were on the 2002 Athletics roster before Jeremy was traded away during the season.

• David Justice → Chad Bradford (Alliance Teammate) — Teammates on the same unconventional Oakland roster.

  Justice and Bradford are among the undervalued veteran and unusual players assembled for the 2002 season.

• Scott Hatteberg → Chad Bradford (Alliance Teammate) — Fellow undervalued players brought in to execute Beane's plan.

  Hatteberg and Bradford are both bargain acquisitions who contribute to the Athletics during their historic winning run.

• David Justice → Scott Hatteberg (Alliance Teammate) — Veteran teammates on the same low-budget roster during the record streak.

  Both veterans are acquired by Beane and Brand as undervalued additions to the 2002 Athletics roster.

• Peter Brand → Grady Fuson (Conflict Analytics Vs. Old School) — An ideological conflict inside the front office over how to evaluate ballplayers.

  Brand's data-driven roster philosophy directly contradicts Fuson's traditional scouting, and Beane ultimately chooses Brand's vision by firing Fuson.

• Art Howe → Scott Hatteberg (Conflict Reluctant Manager And Player) — The manager refuses to trust the injured catcher at a new position.

  Howe resists playing Scott Hatteberg at first base until Beane removes other roster options.

• Peter Brand → Art Howe (Conflict Strategy Opponents) — The manager rejects the analyst's data-driven lineup recommendations.

  Howe disregards Brand's advice to put the players with the best on-base percentage at the top of the batting order.

Story Analysis

A low-budget general manager uses statistical analysis to overturn baseball's traditional power structure and stake the brightest minds on the overlooked value of on-base percentage.

Plot Progression

1. The Unfair Playing Field — Oakland loses the 2001 ALDS to the lavish Yankees, then loses its best players to free agency while receiving only a $41 million budget. Beane realizes the traditional spending model can never work fo...
2. The Rebel Statistician — A rejected trade leads Beane to Peter Brand, whose blunt draft assessment and economic philosophy persuade Beane to hire him. Together they build a roster around OBP and bargain veterans, rejecting co...
3. Resistance in the Clubhouse — After Beane fires Grady Fuson, the team starts terribly and Art Howe openly ignores the data-driven batting plan. Beane forces the issue by trading Howe's favored players and selling ownership on the...
4. Twenty Straight Miracles — The rebuilt club suddenly clicks into a record-winning streak. Beane attends game 20, suffers through a shocking Royals comeback, and erupts when Hatteberg's walk-off homer seals history.
5. The Cost of Changing Baseball — The A's win the AL West but die in the playoffs, and critics say the system failed. Boston's record offer tempts Beane, but Brand's video lesson and his daughter's song push him to remain faithful to...