25 sports stats that no longer seem to matter

With a 17-game schedule, the 1,000 rushing mark has lost a little bit of its luster. Since the start of the 2021 season, there have been 51 1,000-yard rushers. Perhaps 1,200 yards is the new 1,000, with only 17 rushers gaining that much during that same span. There has only been one 2,000-yard rusher since 2021 -- Saquon Barkley (2024). Not to mention, it's a big deal when a team's featured running back actually plays a full season. Or, keep in mind, that this is still a pass-happy NFL. 

Here's the knock on the assist-to-turnover ratio: It tends to glorify quantity over quality. How about those guards -- like Chris Paul -- who have made a living with high-quality, game-changing passing? The unofficial "quality assists" is something that might be a better indicator of the importance put on a player's passing. And, when it comes to turnovers, even the best guards in the game -- pro or college -- will see relatively high numbers from time to time due to the volume of ball handling they do. 

According to Team SpeedKills, the most indicative correlation between penalty statistics and winning percentage -- in terms of penalties per game -- was -0.128. Hardly an impressive stat, and proof that it is not a serious predictor of success. During the 2024 college football season, only two teams -- Ohio State and Indiana -- that made the College Football Playoff ranked among the top 20 in lowest average penalties per game. On the flipside, SMU averaged more than 8 penalties per contest, among the most in the country, and also reached the CFP.

In an age where slugging still packs fans in the seats, striking out at the plate doesn't mean as much as one would think. Never considered a "quality out," the strikeout rarely helps an offense. But, some of the game's best players -- notably power hitters -- have struck out the most. As of June 1, 2025, Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson is the majors' all-time leader with 2,596 strikeouts. Also in the top 10 for most strikeouts -- fellow Hall-of-Famer Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera.

To those old-school fans or baseball purists, batting average is still a big deal when talking about a player's offensive success. However, with the rise of advanced stats and analytics, there is less emphasis placed batting average, alone. Especially because the home run ball is still king. Sexier numbers like on-base percentage, total bases and the ever-popular OPS -- on-base + slugging -- have become the new go-to factors when determining the success of a player at the plate. Now, as of May 30, 2025, the Yankees' Aaron Judge, one of the game's great sluggers, was hitting .398 -- which, obviously, is quite impressive.

Simply put, length no longer seems an important factor to be a good starting pitcher. Sure, quality starts are still considered a key factor in pitching success, but going beyond six innings is not common with more emphasis placed on pitch counts, openers and not getting hurt the third time through an order. In 2024, there were 28 complete games thrown in the majors -- two apiece by Max Fried, Kevin Gausman and Cristopher Sanchez. Got back to 2015, and 104 complete games were recorded.

According to Shot Scope , on average, golfers who hit the fairway off the tee (on a non-par 3) are 15 percent more likely to reach the green in regulation. In this statistical example an argument can be made either way just how important fairways hit are on the PGA Tour. In 2024 Aaron Rai led the Tour by hitting fairways 73.45 percent of the time. Rai has only one PGA Tour win in his career. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, currently the best golfer on the planet, ranked 19th (66.51 percent). Let the argument continue.

In recent years, the belief is that effective field-goal percentage, which takes into account 3-point shooting, is the better indicator of an overall successful shooting player and team. There's always been the argument against its value because post players generally have the highest field-goal percentages because they theoretically take the closest shots. In 2024-25, Cleveland center Jarrett Allen led the league, shooting 70.6 percent. When it comes to perimeter performers, the stat tends to have more value.  

It's safe to say, Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games played streak of 2,632 will not be broken any time soon. Off days are valuable, platooning is popular and major leaguers no longer play hurt. As of May 30, 2025, the closest active streak of the kind was via Matt Olson at 675. The days of the ironman in Major League Baseball are long gone. In fact, only four big-leaguers played in all 162 games in 2024 -- Olson, Pete Alonso, Nick Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna.

In many ways, the goals-against average is a bit outdated. In the sense is that a netminder's GAA is also significantly based on what is happening in front of the net. The formula takes into account the average shots faced and saved. Now, if goalie has a solid defense to work with, the number of shots, theoretically won't be high. A better indicator of goaltender success and worth should be save percentage. Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild ranked sixth in the NHL with a .914 save percentage, but his 2.56 GAA barely cracked the top 10.

There is obvious value in piling up innings for a starting pitcher, but in 2024, only four pitchers tossed at least 200 innings -- Logan Gilbert, Set Lugo, Logan Webb and Zack Wheeler. But, none of those pitchers reach 210 innings. That goes back to the aforementioned topic of complete games. Compare that to 2019, when 15 pitchers reached the 200-inning mark. Or back to 2015, when 28 pitchers accomplished that feat, with seven throwing at least 220.

The NFL and college games have become pass-happy. For better or worse. However, a quarterback's passing yards generally don't tell the true story. Plenty of teams play from behind, allowing passing yards to be padded, often amid "garbage time." In 2024, Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts finished 20th in the NFL with 2,903 yards, but won the Super Bowl. Yes, Patrick Mahomes was the game's top passer in 2022, and won the Super Bowl, but that's the case fewer times than not. In the college game, when Michigan won the national title to conclude the 2023 campaign, J.J. McCarthy ranked 34th in the country with fewer than 3,000 passing yards.

Another stat that over time has lost its luster. Again, starters are not going long into games and openers have become all the rage when it comes to game-planning the rotation, especially if injuries come into play. While current MLB stars such as Tarik Skubal and Shota Imanaga have piled up impressive win totals, one only needs to look at Boston's Tanner Houck. In 2024, he ranked among the major league leaders with a 3.12 ERA over 30 starts, but posted a 9-10 record. Not far behind was Seattle's Logan Gilbert, who pitched a big-league high 208 2/3 innings, had a 3.23 ERA and was an All-Star, but own a rough 9-12 in 2024.

The statistic sounds all-encompassing, a seemingly thorough evaluation of a player's overall talent. That said, it focuses heavily on offensive acumen. Thus, essentially forgoing a player's defensive value and other intangibles. Actually, the stat has been considered rather ancient for some time in the age of next-generation statistics.

The plus-minus statistic remains popular because it's fun for the talking heads of the game to banter around. But, it basically depends on how good a team is on a given season, so consistency can be a factor. In 2024-25, the Nashville Predators endured a disappointing season, with star Filip Forsberg a career-worst minus-27, after being a plus-16 a season prior, while still among the best players in the NHL. And, how about the great Alex Ovechkin, who totaled 73 goals in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but was a combined minus-38?

For decades, the punt average statistic has rarely ever been an accurate predictor of a punter's talent or success. How one punts the football -- whether in the NFL or the college game -- can be misleading. Hangtime, accuracy, placement, avoiding touchbacks and average return yards all seem more important. Of course, the situation of the game, and field position generally dictates a punter's focus at any given time. In 2024, Las Vegas' AJ Cole ranked second in the NFL with a 42.5 yards per punt, but the Raiders won four games. Meanwhile, four of the top five punters in fewest average return yards from 2024 were members of playoff teams.

Another statistic that raises questions about overall accuracy. If a golfer consistently hits greens in regulation, he or she will generally have more putting opportunities each round. At the same time, there are stellar bunker or rough players, who, depending on factors such as green slope or pin placement, purposely aim to miss the green because they are strong at the up-and-down game. As of May 31, 2025, Englishman Harry Hall led the PGA Tour with an average 27.50 putts per round. Who? Exactly. Again, Scottie Scheffler, at the same point, ranked 12th.

Whether college or pro, just what purpose does the Quarterback (or Passer) Rating serve? The formula takes into account completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage, a solid indicator of overall performance.  However, does any of that translate into consistent and championship success? Since 2021, among the top 10 quarterbacks in Quarterback Rating during that span, only Patrick Mahomes, who ranks 10th with a 105.2 from 2022, won a Super Bowl that season.

The RBI statistic has always been a touchy subject (especially whether to call it RBI or RBIs) when it comes to describing offensive worth. Though still a solid offensive talking point, like batting average, next-generation statistics and analytics have overshadowed this traditional metric. A longtime opposing argument for the RBI worth has been that there are so many ways to bring him a run, including several when making an out. In 2024, the Arizona Diamondbacks led the majors with 845 RBIs, but didn't make the playoffs. 

Serve speed in tennis might be the equivalent to driving distance in golf. Everybody loves to talk about how hard a player can smash a serve, but it obviously does not tell the whole story when it comes to determining service success. Other elements, such as placement, spin, accuracy and consistency all play major roles when it comes to exceptional serving. That said, success in general doesn't always translate into a Hall-of-Fame career. John Isner posted a record 14,470 aces, but never won a Grand Slam event.

Let's note that there will always be chatter when it comes to determining what is an official shot on goal. And, why is an attempt that clanks off the iron of the net not considered a shot on goal? Regardless, for years, a high shots on goal has not always equaled success. In 2024-25, the New York Islanders, Calgary, Nashville, and Columbus each ranked among the top 10 in the NHL for highest average shots on goal, but none made the playoffs. Conversely, Montreal and St. Louis ranked in the bottom five of the same category and were playoff teams.

A mega-popular stat during the 1970s and '80s, the stolen base began to wane as the power surge in baseball became prevalent, while small ball was no longer a consistent way to win games. Since the late 1990s, the stolen base has become sort of risky. It's all about scoring runs, and getting a runner thrown out on the bases has become more of a liability. In 1985, Vince Coleman stole 110 bases. In 2019, the major league steals leaders were Seattle's Mallex Smith with 46. However, the steal might be making a comeback. Exciting Cincinnati star Elly De La Cruz swiped 67 bags in 2024.

A club that can pass the ball efficiently generally with also holds a majority of a match's possession. Now, that doesn't always guarantee victory. In fact, the successful passes statistic has been one dubbed meaningless from a while. There are several other factors that determine a team's success when it comes to passing -- quality, difficulty, style of play and the caliber of players on the pitch. This stat is just too generic to properly indicate success.

The argument has lingered for years that tackles, whether in pro or college football, don't tell a whole lot about a player's value. Yes, a majority of the game's tackle leaders are linebackers, especially in the middle, where they are able to roam a good chunk of the field and can defend both the run and pass. While solo tackles might be a little more informative, it should be known that the top four tacklers (total) in the NFL from 2024 were from teams that did not make the playoffs -- or own a winning record. Plus, if a team can't defend the run up front, second-level tackles will be the norm. Also, if a squad gives up chunk yards, secondary members, usually safeties, will see high rates of stops.

For those not in the know, the win score formula is as follows: (Points)+(Rebounds)+(Steals)+(½Assists)+(½Blocked Shots)-(Field Goal Attempts)-(Turnovers)-½(Free Throw Attempts)-½Personal Fouls. Yes, it is highly intricate, but what value does it hold? Actually, a better indicator of individual success in terms of generating victories should be the "Win Share." The top three all-time leaders (as of June 2025) in that category are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (273.41), LeBron James (271.38) and Wilt Chamberlain (247.26)