For movie-going baseball geeks, it's almost time to play ball.
Almost three months before it's due to hit theaters, Sony Pictures has finally released a full-length trailer for Moneyball, an adaptation of Michael Lewis' 2003 bestseller that chronicled how the Oakland Atheltics used data analysis and advanced calculations to field a winning baseball team on the cheap.
The film stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the Athletics general manager who orchestrated the movement. Jonah Hill plays Peter Brand, the renamed version of Paul DePodesta, the Harvard-educated wunderkind who was Beane's right hand throughout the franchise's turnaround.
For those unfamiliar with the A's teams of 10 years ago, the club never actually advanced to a World Series, but their forward-thinking philosophy and techniques were emulated by other teams that did go on to much success.
Spoiler alert: The film will almost certainly culminate with the 2002 club's historic 20-game win streak. That 20th game was certainly the stuff of any Hollywood screenplay. Playing at home, the A's blew an 11-run lead, only to have Scott Hatteberg (played by Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt) hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth. In the book, Hatteberg is one of those A's most championed by Beane and his progressive style of player evaluation.
Directed by Oscar-nominee Bennett Miller (Capote), the film also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as A's manager Art Howe and former San Francisco Giants shortstop Royce Clayton as then-A's shortstop Miguel Tejada (who coincidentally now plays for the Giants).
As of now, the film is slated to hit theaters on September 23.