Howe, who played for the Astros from 1976-82, managed them from 1989-93 and now does the pre- and postgame shows for Fox Sports Houston, living in Houston all the while, was the manager of the Oakland Athletics club on which the movie was based. He was shown being consistently at odds with general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and consumed with his own personal financial future.
His recollection of the events is quite different, and Howe felt betrayed by the movie, based on a 2003 Michael Lewis book for which he says he was consulted only for about 10 minutes. Here are his thoughts on his unceremonious big screen debut.
Q: What was it like to be portrayed on screen and how did you feel you were portrayed?
A: First of all, Philip Seymour Hoffman physically didn’t resemble me in any way. He was a little on the heavy side. And just the way he portrayed me was very disappointing and probably 180 degrees from what I really am, so that was disappointing too.
Q: Was the contract an issue? I know that was a big thing in the movie and almost how they introduced you in the movie.
A: That was fictitious. They didn’t do their homework as far as the movie was concerned because I was on a two-year contract through 2003. I had another year after that. My agent always took care of my contract; I never negotiated with Billy, especially not in the hallway of the clubhouse. Never happened.