The Oakland Athletics were the inspiration last year for a surprising Hollywood hit: “Moneyball,” a movie about baseball economics, one that, through astute casting, made the geeky world of advanced player statistics seem sexy.

The A’s are back this season as ripe material for a sequel, though not to “Moneyball.” Instead, think of “Major League,” with Charlie Sheen, not Brad Pitt. In that 1989 movie, a team desperate for a new stadium has traded away most of its high-priced players and allowed others to leave through free agency. The roster is filled with mostly rookies and a few lesser-known veterans, and they start the season playing to tiny crowds. There is even a mysterious Cuban slugger with a propensity for long home runs.

The A’s are certainly on script. Before the season, in a sell-off of talent aimed at stockpiling young players whose promise might help the club relocate to a new stadium in San Jose, the A’s traded their best pitcher and their star closer; they fielded a team that has so far seen a record 99 games started by rookie pitchers; they have been ignited by a young Cuban slugger who was previously known to much of the world only through his YouTube video clips; and they’ve played in a stadium that is more an embarrassing contraption than a ballpark — with a third of its seats permanently closed off because of poor attendance.

Through it all, they have won ballgames at a remarkable rate, qualifying for the playoffs in a run far more unlikely than those pulled off by the teams depicted in “Moneyball.” They have done it with strong pitching, superb defense, timely hitting and a great deal of youthful swagger.