Fantasy sports is obsessed with statistics, there is no doubt about that. Take this baseball season for example. Baseball is a statistics-driven sport, and fantasy baseball takes that idea to an even higher level. Any and all baseball stats can be used for the purpose of scoring. From games played, to number of batters thrown out, to hitting for the cycle or hitting a grand slam, baseball is a statistical sport that can be tracked for fantasy purposes.

But does fantasy take into account other, non-statistical numbers? Of course not. Should it? I believe so. Fantasy baseball covers just about any statistic imaginable, but some characteristics are not measured by statistics. In the real world of sports, stats might not be so important in some instances, being superseded by the context of the moment. What are some of the most exciting moments in baseball, you can ask yourself. Well, how about getting a game-winning hit in the bottom of the 9th, with two outs and a runner on third? In the fantasy sports world, you will get credit for a hit and an RBI perhaps, worthy credit for a job well done. But is it enough? Shouldn’t that hit and RBI be worth more due to the “clutch” factors involved? One can argue that this sort of hit is worth more points since it’s ostensibly more difficult to deliver that type of hit than say, an RBI single in the 4th inning of a game and the batter’s team is ahead by 5 runs. Every kid dreams of getting that clutch hit or out, shouldn’t that be good enough for fantasy consideration?

There are several other examples of this. How about a pitcher getting out of a bases loaded jam after giving up three consecutive singles? How about a batter hitting the ball into a gap intentionally? How about an outfielder making a spectacular assist? These plays will all make it into the stat box and may be counted for fantasy purposes, but does the box score and resulting fantasy points given really reflect the quality of the play given the circumstances?

I would argue that fantasy baseball and fantasy stats in general do a wonderful job of allowing us to have our own team, track stats and compete with others. For instance, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports has categories for just about every stat imaginable. But perhaps we should bring our fantasy stats more in line with what’s happening in the real game. That would provide, for lack of a better phrase, a more realistic fantasy experience. We can give bonus points for those clutch hits, those strikeouts in pressure situations of a tight ball game. One may argue that this makes the fantasy sports game too subjective, but I truly believe we can improve our fantasy sports experience while maintaining objectivity. A walk-off homerun is what it is, as is the game-winning hit in an extra inning ballgame.

If we came up with every statistic imaginable, you’d need a 15 foot wide screen to review your fantasy team pages. Many bonus stats can be augmented onto existing stats like hits, strikeouts, and so on so it’s not overly cumbersome. And still bring us closer to the games we love. We shouldn’t stop with baseball either, as I see applications for football and basketball. In this way, we’re more a part of the “real” part of the games while keeping our “fantasies” alive.

Isn’t that what fantasy sports is all about?