Moneyball Argumentative Essay

Part Two: Analytical Essay
The appeal to tradition, also called argumentum ad antiquitatem, is a commonplace fallacy that posits that an idea is correct simply on the basis that it is similar to a past or present tradition. We see it everywhere: in government, in schools, in music, in the workplace, and even in sports. The book Moneyball by Michael Lewis is largely about this idea, where Lewis argues that even if something has been done traditionally for many years and worked, the traditional way is not necessarily the most efficient way. In the case of Moneyball, this idea refers to the player scouting aspect of baseball. In my experience, I have found time and time again that Lewis is correct is his assertion: the traditional way is not always the best way. Blindly following tradition can lead to an incomplete understanding of a problem and, as an extension, an incomplete response as well.
The first place we can look for proof of this statement is the exact place where it was made. Throughout Moneyball, Lewis continually makes examples that show that in sport, traditions are meant to be challenged. On page 37, Lewis notes how the
In it, a poor Jewish man named Tevye has to deal with the thought of his three daughters getting married, all while anti-Semitic sentiments threaten to displace him from his home village. He at first objects to the marriages of all his daughters because of the undesirable qualities of his daughters’ suitors: one is poor and one is a Marxist, for example. By the end of the musical however, Tevye sees the error in his ways and comes to realize that the world is changing. He knows that he must change with it, allowing his daughters to marry whomever they choose. This is a very well known example of tradition being disregarded (to an extent) in favor of doing what is