Game Theory in Moneyball

I recently read the book, "Moneyball" and it was by far one of the best things I've ever read.  There are two chapters in particular that I really enjoyed and actually in retrospect see game theory take place.  The two chapters are on the amateur player draft and the trade deadline.  I'll talk about the draft first.

First off, I love and know a lot about baseball so reading this and seeing the names of the players they talked about even before they were all-stars is very fun.  The to highlight the beginning of the chapter, the general managers (GMs) are calling each other back and forth trying to see who each other is drafting and all will drop small hints saying things like "this player may fall to you" or they will flat out ask if a certain GM is drafting a player or not.  The A's (the team the book is based around) have their set list of players they want and think that they can get - or at least afford to get.  Billy Bean (the A's GM) starts to get very nervous because other GMs, who have picks before the A's, are dropping hints that they might take players the A's are interested in.  To make a long story short, teams in front of the A's end up taking different picks than expected which then allows Billy to reveal his hand and draft every player he wanted, that kind of luck of was unheard of.  So by holding out until the last minute, he was able to gain the most over his competition.

The trade deadline provides a similar example.  Billy really likes to play antagonist when trading with teams and has the reputation for picking the pockets of other teams without their knowledge because he evaluates players on a different level.  He really wants this pitcher, Ricardo Rincon, and is going to do whatever it takes to get him.  To get him, Billy must first trade with other teams who are interested in Rincon also so that they are no longer interested in him.  Through a series of trades and semi-truthful phone calls, Billy is able to secure Rincon.  This was the opposite tactic from the draft.  Billy was calling everyone and anyone telling other GMs what teams are interested in what players and gives inside information to get what he wants.  The phone calls between Billy and other GMs is so fast paced that if you are not knowledgable about baseball, you might get lost - but I loved it.  It's hard to put into words this whole back and forth of trade talk but the author nails it and the movie scene does a great job also.
Here is the end of the trade deadline from the movie:

The main reason I liked Moneyball is because it shows how much goes on behind scenes in baseball and sports for that matter.  The front office and GM provide so much insight into the game that players and managers neither have the time nor the resources to find themselves.  Teams aren't put together by players for a reason.  On a note unrelated to games, if you have not read Moneyball and enjoy sports, especially baseball, I would highly recommend reading it (or watching the movie if you're lazy), it shows a side of sports that most people never see.