Can Sports Stats Measure Heart?

Great post from Joe Posnanski, a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated.

There’s no stat yet that measures heart.”
– Nomar Garciaparra

You hear stuff like this all the time, and often from very good ex-ballplayers like Nomar Garciaparra. Baseball stats are lacking. They don’t quantify what’s inside. They can’t tell you what’s really going on. They don’t reveal a players leadership, his commitment, his consistency, his poise under pressure. Stats cannot measure the heart. Read the rest...

I always feel proud when a coach or another parent tells me that my son or daughter played with heart. My wife and I praise hustle, hard work and courage more than hits, baskets, goals, etc. We tell our kids that there are going to be lots of games without hits, baskets or goals, but you can still feel great about your performance if you play with heart.