Mark Mulder did a really cool thing on Twitter.
As a significant piece of the Oakland A’s during the “Moneyball” era, Mark Mulder experienced hands on what it was like to be a part of a franchise that couldn’t compete financially with the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Up until last night, Mulder had not seen Moneyball, the movie that was nominated for six Oscars and based off of the book by Michael Lewis, which focused on the 2002 A’s and GM Billy Beane.
A WIFE in SPORTS helped talk him into seeing it, specifically Kim Hudson, the wife of Tim Hudson, who currently pitches for the San Francisco Giants and was a part of Oakland’s “Big 3” (with Mulder and Barry Zito).
Since @kimberlybhudson husband doesn’t believe I haven’t watched Moneyball yet, I’ll watch tonight finally and give my opinion on it later.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
That’s when this story goes from good to great – that is, if you love to get an inside look of what really goes on behind the scenes in both sports and Hollywood. Mulder live-tweeted as he watched the movie. Right off the bat, he was quick to make a crack at himself when he appeared in the film.
I’ve seen myself throw a pitch and now my ugly mug in first 2 min of #moneyball pic.twitter.com/2c7P1dMkcT — Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
Mulder’s commentary was great, and it was fascinating to see him point out some of the flaws and inaccuracies with the movie.
For example, one key scene featured Jeremy Giambi dancing in the clubhouse following a loss…
…which Mulder pointed out never happened.
Jeremy never turned on music and team never did that after a loss.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
He also went on to post a few tweets regarding Oakland’s AL-record 20-game win streak.
Kind of getting goodebumps watching the winning streak highlights. — Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
Hattebergs homer was one of the coolest things I ever experienced in baseball.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
Mulder – who had 81 wins over five seasons with the A’s – was also quick to point out a Game 5 performance in the 2002 AL Division Series versus the Twins.
Boy did I blow it game 5 against the Twins. That was a day game by the way. Not a night game.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
Seven innings, nine hits, two runs and nine strikeouts would hardly be blowing it. Although, who can blame a competitor when the game ends in a loss and playoff elimination?
This simple story is one of the main reasons why Twitter and social media are so great.
It gives you a behind the scenes look at how Hollywood can tweak a storyline to help tell a story on the big screen. It also gives you the inside track of how a professional ball player views something he personally lived.
Curses! That Mark Mulder is sharing all our ‘Moneyball’ movie secrets!
Despite its tweaks, Mulder gave the movie a positive review.
Honestly thought it was a really good movie. Sure, things were embellished but whatever. Still good.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) July 3, 2014
The Moneyball story itself also told a unique side. It features a hefty chunk of statistics, which is satisfying to the die-hard baseball fans of the world.
To see the entire list of tweets, check out Mark Mulder’s Twitter account.
Now, let’s have Kim Hudson convince Barry Zito or Scott Hatteberg to share their thoughts, too.
Pretty cool that he did that.
I still haven’t made it through the book or the movie. Is that wrong?
I always thought listing stats would be backing up an argument. I’m not saying that Oakland is winning the whole thing. I’m saying that this A’s team is much more suitable to have a shot to do so. They are more balanced and have more talented and veteran arms in play to compete with the likes of the Tigers.
KP spewing up stats and not having anything to back it up with shows apathy .
TOP,
So, are you telling me that the A’s are not going to have a shot at a World Series this year, after having the best ERA in the American League, even before adding Samardzija and Hammel to its rotation?
It is, but can you blame them for trying to find a new and unique way to succeed? Now look at the A’s today! Trading top prospects for two solid arms and really making a run for the title. They also spent some money in the offseason, too.
Sabermetrics is simply another way of trying to reinvent the wheel . Look at the teams that have won the World Series over the past decade and then look the payrolls of the winning teams in question . You will be lucky if any of the clubs in question had a payroll South of $110 million . helserldsa reru
Hey TOP, yeah I know… the whole “based on a true story” thing. I get it… but it was still fun for me to see a former player in that situation point out the falsities that were there. It was fascinating.