The former ESPN columnist and analytics pioneer dramatically recreates an action-packed 2017 game between the Oakland A’s and eventual World Series Champion Houston Astros to reveal the myriad ways that Major League Baseball has changed during the last few decades.

On September 8, 2017, the Oakland A’s faced off against the Houston Astros in a game that would signal the passage of the Moneyball mantle. Though this is only 1 regular season game, the match-up of these two teams confirmed about Power Ball: Anatomy of today’s Baseball Game how Major Little league Baseball has transformed since the start of Athletics general supervisor Billy Beane as well as the publication of Michael Lewis’ classic book.

Within the last two decades, power and analytics took over the overall game, driving carefully calibrated teams just like the Astros to victory. Apparently every pitcher now throws middle-90s heat and studiously compares their mechanics against the perfect. Every batter in the lineup can split homers and understands their launch sides. Teams are relying on unorthodox strategies, including using power-losing-purposely tanking several seasons to obtain the best players in the draft.

As he chronicles each inning as well as the unfolding dilemma as these two groups continually trade the lead-culminating inside a 9-8 Oakland victory in underneath from the ninth-Neyer considers the players and managers, the front workplace machinations, the function of sabermetrics, and the existing thinking about what it takes to build a great team, to answer one of the most pressing questions followers have about the sport today.