Moneyball’s Nick Swisher: ‘Most players were signing cards, we were signing books’

Twenty years after he was drafted, the former Yankees and A’s star reflects on how Michael Lewis’s famous book affected his career

MONEYBALL: Blue Jays GM Josh Donaldson chats with Oakland A's coounterpart Billy Beane (centre) and Equipment Manager Steve Vucinich in the Athletics clubhouseat the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California.

THE 2002 Major League Baseball draft saw a healthy crop of future All-Stars – such as Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels and Prince Fielder – pen their first professional contracts. It also produced a misguided selection widely regarded as one of the all-time biggest busts, when the Pittsburgh Pirates took pitcher Bryan Bullington with the No 1 overall pick.

But the 2002 class will forever be associated with a book that sent ripples around the sporting world. Michael Lewis’ Moneyball told the story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane and his ground-breaking, analytics-based approach to recruitment during the 2002 draft and MLB season. It was turned into a movie starring Brad Pitt in 2011 and continues to shape thinking across many sports.