20 Things You Didn’t Know About Moneyball

7. Several Of The Actors Were Former Baseball Players

Though Miller didn't have baseball players playing themselves as per Steven Soderbergh's original plan, he did hire a number of former baseball players-turned-actors for bit-parts in the film.

The A's submarine relief pitcher Chad Bradford, for example, is played by Casey Bond, a former outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.

Outfielder David Justice was meanwhile played by former baseball player Stephen Bishop, who had actually spent a season playing with Justice himself in the 1990s, while shortstop Miguel Tejada was played by MLB vet Royce Clayton, and pitcher Mike Magnante was played by former Atlanta Braves pitcher Derrin Ebert.

As a result, the physicality of the movie's game footage seemed totally authentic, while not deigning to the gimmickry of having non-actor athletes desperately trying to act.