Difference between revisions of "MoneyBart/References"

Revision as of 13:06, April 29, 2024

Cultural references

• The episode title is a pun on the title of the non-fiction book Moneyball by Michael Lewis and adapted into a feature film with the same title starring Brad Pitt.
  • In addition, the plot parodies the rigorously statistics-oriented approach to managing a baseball team, as documented in Moneyball.
• British graffiti artist and activist Banksy created this episode's couch gag. Several references to Banksy are seen during the opening credits as well.
• "That Lady" by The Isley Brothers is heard when Dahlia Brinkley arrives to Springfield Elementary School.
• Dahlia has a sticker from the Yale University in the rear window glass of her car.
• According to Skinner, Dahlia was the only Springfield Elementary student to advance to the Ivy League.
• The song "Clubland" performed by Elvis Costello & The Attractions is heard when Skinner goes through Dahlia's yearbook.
• Cirque du Springfield is a parody of Cirque du Soleil.
• After beating his sister in fencing, Maggie draws an "M" on Lisa's clothes, similar to the "Z" mark of Zorro.
• Marge tells Lisa she could still attend McGill University, and calls it "the Harvard of Canada".
• Ned calls himself Walter Matthau as he was a "bad-news bearer". This is a reference to the 1976 sports comedy film The Bad News Bears, starring Matthau.
• Nelson compares himself to American pitcher Whitey Ford.
• The coaches Lisa thinks are female include Connie Mack, Sandy Alomar, Terry Francona, and Pinky Higgins.
• Bart calls Lisa Tootsie Pop, like the lollipop brand.
• According to Benjamin, Cliff Lee is superior to Zack Greinke as a pitcher.
• Professor Frink thinks any eight-yeard-old girl could run a baseball club with the sagacity of Casey Stengel and the single-mindedness of George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner had a tendency to meddle in daily on-field decisions, and to hire and fire (and sometimes re-hire) managers.
• The web page that Bill James appeared on looked a lot like Wikipedia with a globe logo and sidebar.

Lisa is given fictional and real-world books to improve her team's strategy

• Doug introduces Lisa to the concept of sabermetrics by giving her a book written by Bill James, a pioneer in this concept. The books handed to Lisa include:
  • Schrödinger's Bat, which is a reference to Schrödinger's cat.
  • The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, a real-world book.
  • F=MA, making allusion to Newton's second law of motion.
  • e^iπ + 1 = 0, which is Euler's identity.
  • Moneyball, (where the episode got its title) the real-world book about the Oakland Athletics's sabermetric approach to assembling a competitive baseball team on a small budget.
  • Chaos Theory in Baseball Analysis, applying chaos theory.
  • The Tao of Baseball, including the yin and yang symbol commonly associated with Taoism.
• Moe advertised his bar on Scientific American, a popular science magazine.
• Baseball commentator mentions Albert Einstein.
• "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" by Albert Von Tilzer is heard when Lisa is improving the team's strategy and is also heard during the credits.
• The scene where Lisa is surrounded by green numbers is similar to The Matrix.
• One page of the book that Lisa is reading includes an analysis of OBP (On-base percentage) vs. RISP (Runner In Scoring Position). As seen in the book, OBP is defined as (H+BB+HBP)/(AB+BB+HBP+SF), where H: Hits; BB: Base on Balls, or walk; HBP: Hit by pitch; AB: At bat; SF: Sacrifice fly.
• Bart mentions the baseball stadium Enrod Field, now named as Minute Maid Park. He also mentions the AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) which was previously named Pacific Bell Park (2000–2003) and SBC Park (2004–2005).
• The announcer refers to the Greek myth of Chronos the Titan, who ate his children when they were born.
• Homer refers to the 1969 New York Mets season and mentions Ron Swoboda, a notable member of the Miracle Mets.
• The bedtime story that Marge was reading to Bart (a moment that was ultimately spoiled due to Marge getting into a narrative shouting match with Homer through the adjoining air vent), The Berrystained Bears Stick Together, is a parody of the Berenstain Bears series of children's books.
• In the book All-Star Classics, Homer reads about the final play of the 1970 All-Star Game, where Ray Fosse was injured in a collision with Pete Rose at home base. Homer also reads how Rose earned the nickname "Charlie Hustle".
• The short fanfare "Charge" in the first game of the Isotots without Bart.
• Mike Scioscia is wearing two caps of Los Angeles Angels, the team he has managed from the 2000 season through the 2018 season. Scioscia also mentions Dick Drago and Oscar Gamble.
• The announcer of the game between Capital City and Springfield Isotots makes allusion to Lenny Dykstra's financial and legal troubles. In 2009, former professional baseball Lenny Dykstra was arrested and charged with bankruptcy fraud, followed by grand theft auto and drug possession charges on an unrelated case, as well as indecent exposure.

Continuity

• Mike Sciosica getting radiation poisoning in "Homer at the Bat" is mentioned.

Goofs

• Bart says they have been at the amusement park seven hours, yet the Isotot's baseball game is still in the middle of play after all that time, with enough time for them to get to the stadium from the amusement park and still let Bart bat.
• When Lisa meets Frink, his glasses are thick and white. However, in the next scene, Frink's glasses are thin and black.
• Throughout Lewis and his look alike switch hair colors.