Moneyball Author and Master Storyteller Entertains Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę Crowd
Before a packed crowd at the Dr. Lakireddy Auditorium, bestselling author Michael Lewis conversed with interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom about the future of financial markets, the Oakland Aās, college athletics and the housing bubble, in the Jan. 31 installment of the Chancellorās Speaker Series.
Lewis, who wrote āMoneyball,ā āThe Blind Sideā and āThe Big Shortā ā all of which became Academy Award-nominated films ā fielded questions from Brostrom and the audience. His latest venture, a podcast called , which will feature Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę in its new season, launchesĀ in May.Ā
Lewis kicked off the night by detailing his research process during āMoneyball,ā when he initially set out to see if a class warfare of sorts existed in baseball between cash-strapped teams like the Oakland Aās and those that spend whatever it takes to get the best players, like the New York Yankees. As Lewis spoke with players and management in the organization, he soon realized the story wasnāt the sum the players were being paid, but the way they were valued. He noticed a systematic bias in baseball that valued athletes who looked the part ā fit, fast, strong and handsome ā over less athletic-looking players, while undervaluing things like pitch selection and the ability to get on base.Ā
āItās not a story about baseball. Itās a story about markets and how the markets value people,ā Lewis said. āStop thinking of it as a sport. Think of it as a business, a market.ā
Lewis likened the University of California to the Moneyball Aās, as it goes toe-to-toe against the wealthy ā Harvard, Stanford and other large private universities ā holdingĀ its own despite limited means. He also credited Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę for its impact on the lives of first-generation and underrepresented students.
āThis is a society-changing institution,ā Lewis said, generating perhaps the loudest applause of the night. āAnd itās just getting going.ā
The audience included students, faculty, staff, trustees, university boosters, area residents and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, who asked Lewis what he thought of Californiaās new law allowing college athletes to profit from commercial use of their likenesses. The author pronounced himself fully in support.
āThe NCAA looks like a machine for chewing up the value of disadvantaged kids,ā Lewis said, noting student athletes now have a way to share in the profits, as other states follow Californiaās lead so as not to lose a recruiting advantage. āYou can see the crack in the system starting to open up.ā
Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ęĀ is a society-changing institution,Ā and itās just getting going.
To a studentās question about what to study in college, Lewis acknowledged that college can be challenging and that holding too tightly to a predetermined professional path can lead to frustration. Ā
āDonāt walk away,ā he said. āGive yourself a minute to think about who you are, rather than let the market determine who you are. ā¦ And try to be more than one thing.ā
Lewis and Brostrom joined members of the Yosemite Leadership Program on a hike in Yosemite National Park on Saturday morning.
Lewis is the second in the 2019-20 Chancellorās Speaker Series, following in October. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will speak Tuesday, Feb. 25, and author/historian Douglas Brinkley will join Brostrom on stage on Thursday, April 9.