One of the most popular movies in the United States has a Muhlenberg connection.

Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, is the story of Billy Beane’s doings as general manager of the Oakland A’s in 2002. It opened last weekend to critical acclaim and finished at No. 2 at the box office, behind only The Lion King 3D.

Former Mule baseball coach Bob Macaluso has a small part in the movie hitting fungoes to Scott Hatteberg (played by Chris Pratt).

“A friend of mine was hired by Sony Pictures to gather former players and coaches to try out for parts in the movie in the summer of 2010,” Macaluso wrote in an e-mail. “Most of the movie was shot in Oakland; my scene was at Long Beach. They selected a scene of me hitting ground balls to Hatteberg and got a couple of closeup shots of me on the big screen.” 

Macaluso, billed as “Coach Bob” in the movie credits, coached Muhlenberg from 1999 to 2006 and ranks second on the program’s all-time wins list with a record of 136-146-3. He led the Mules to the Centennial Conference finals in 2002 and 2003.

When he’s not working on his movie career, Macaluso is in his fifth year as an assistant coach at Cal-Irvine. He coaches first base for the Anteaters, who have been to the NCAA Regionals each of the last four years.

So how has Macaluso’s big screen debut been received? “I have received positive reviews of my Academy Award performance!” he wrote.