One of the segments using real video from previous games shows the A's coming off the field and Carlos Pena coming in from first base, but this is shown in the film well after Peña was traded away.
When Beane starts listening to game #20 of the streak in his truck there is a train crossing a bridge in the background. However, there is no bridge in the next shot of him veering toward an exit.
During the top of the fourth inning of game #20 of the streak, Raul Ibanez of Kansas City is at third base when the stadium announcer can clearly be heard saying, "Now batting . . . number 18 . . . left fielder . . . Raúl Ibañez."
At one point, we are shown that the A's record is 20-26. There are at least 2 more losses, and then we are shown the record again at the beginning of a montage, and the record is still 20-26.
Billy Beane is shown several times batting right-handed as a pro. But when Billy is shown looking at his little league photo it clearly shows him batting left-handed.
Art Howe was not in the final year of his contract in 2002 with the Oakland A's as depicted in the movie. However, he was gladly released from his contract at the end of the 2002 season by Billy Beane and hired by the New York Mets for the 2003 season.
In a flashback where Beane is playing for the Mets, he strikes out swinging and the umpire yells "strike three." It is universal professional umpire protocol to only vocalize called strikes. Swinging strikes are always indicated by hand signals only.
Although the movie gets the trade of Jeremy Giambi correct (it happened early in the season and he was dealt for John Mabry), Carlos Pena was not traded until two months later, and not for a relief pitcher and cash. Peña was traded as part of a three-team deal with the Tigers and Yankees, which brought starting pitcher Ted Lilly to the A's.
In one of the film's flashbacks, Billy is shown as a New York Met playing at Dodger Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a player, Billy Beane never played a game at Dodger Stadium, nor did he ever play a game against the Dodgers.
Scenes from night games show fluorescent lighting in the dugout. There are no lights in the dugouts at the Coliseum (this would interfere with players' ability to see the ball).
The movie takes place right after the 9/11 attacks, when most non-passengers would not be allowed to say goodbye to passengers at the gate, inside airport security, as Billy Beane does. However, Beane is allowed to because his daughter is flying as an unaccompanied minor; as her guardian, he is allowed to escort her through security to the gate even though he is not flying.
Casey specifically asks for a small spoon to eat her dessert with, but she is seen using a spoon which is larger than a tea spoon. However, this is because she was *not* asking for a tea spoon (which in USA/UK measures is a third of a table spoon), she was asking her daddy for the correct utensil: a DESSERT SPOON (which in USA/UK measures is half of a table spoon). Of course, Casey's dessert spoon does appear to be a bit bigger than normal, since it is being held by a child's delicate hand.
Thought out the entire movie the over voice says "(he) only made one decision based on money in his life," the entire movie is him making decisions based on money.
But from the context it was clear he was talking about personal life decisions, not work-related.
But from the context it was clear he was talking about personal life decisions, not work-related.
In the flashback scene in which Billy is playing for the Mets at Dodger Stadium, the press box is completely empty. The press box would be full of reporters during any live game.
When Billy is talking to Mark Shapiro on the speakerphone, he realizes that the other buyer for Ricardo Rincón is San Francisco. Mark was never muted, but Billy then presses a button on the speakerphone and says "call you back", but doesn't press any buttons after that to hang up. This means Billy actually hung up on Mark and then said, "call you back".
When the reporter is interviewing Hatteberg before the first game in front of his locker with a reel-to-reel cassette recorder, the tape is not moving and therefore not recording.
When they show Bradford pitching for the first time, it's against a teammate and the pitch thrown is very high (but not inside). The batter, however, dives out of the box as if he was going to be hit by the pitch. The pitch didn't have any movement (curve or slider) to make the batter think he was going to get hit, and any batter at this level of baseball wouldn't react that way.
Prior to the game on opening day players are shown doing pregame interviews with multiple reporters. Reporters are usually not allowed in the clubhouse right before a game.
When Beane visits Fenway Park, the Red Sox championship banners from 2004 and 2007 are visible, though this takes place in 2002. Also, the seats above the "Green Monster" are visible even though these were not completed until the beginning of the 2003 season.
When Peter is flashing through all the players in his database, one player passing by is seen wearing a Toronto Blue Jays hat with the 2004 logo.
In 2001, when Scott Hatteberg is first shown on screen, his feet are up on a coffee table, clearly showing the Nike+ logo on the sole of his shoe. Nike+ was introduced in 2006.
In various scenes in Art Howe's office, there is a photo of 1971-3 A's manager Dick Williams with the Hall of Fame logo. Dick Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in December 2007.
In an aerial shot of the Oakland stadium the Oracle Arena can be seen but the film takes place in 2002 when it was still known as the Oakland Arena. It was not renamed to Oracle Arena until 2007.
After Billy says the line "You know, I... I don't get over these things..." we hear him say "Ever" but his lips aren't moving.
When Billy is trying to teach Peter how to release a player, in one of the beginning lines Jonah Hill says "You don't go on the road with the team" and Brad Pitt follows with "Thats why I want you to do it". However, at least in a streaming version of the film, his lips are not moving as this is said.