Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 3: “More Heart, Less Numbers”

August 15, 2025 | ESPN New York
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Episode Focus: The third hour pivots on sports decision-making—heart vs. analytics—using the current state of New York baseball, football, and their intersecting emotional narratives as a lens. The hosts explore local events, share personal stories, and field listener calls with their signature humor and candor.

Main Theme

More Heart, Less Numbers:
The group debates whether the obsession with analytics in New York sports has squeezed the soul, spontaneity, and competitiveness out of the Yankees, Mets, and even the Giants. The broader message: sometimes, success requires going with your gut, breaking the mold, and letting a team’s “heartbeat” lead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mark Sasso Memorial Softball Game (00:56–05:04)

• Don promotes the annual charity softball game (Wagfield, NJ, Aug 23), honoring his late friend, Mark Sasso, and benefiting local scholarships.
• Star-studded guest list: Alan bringing his wife, Peter attending with family, Chris Carlin (despite injuring his thumb last outing), Brian O’Halloran from Clerks, Greg Buttle, Bart Scott, Chris Canty, and more.
• Food highlight: Artie from Fair Lawn providing food. Don playfully pressures Peter and Alan to attend, regardless of playing ability.
• Sentimental background: The event began after Mark Sasso’s death in 2008 to “bring the town together, build playgrounds, and now fund scholarships.”

  “It's always a lot of fun, right, Peter? To get everybody going there and hopefully the weather's great.” – Don (02:16)

2. Sports Management: Gut Versus Analytics (05:04–13:16)

• Mets & Yankees criticized for ‘robotic’ decision-making:
  • Don questions Mets manager Mendoza’s hook for Senga: “Would’ve shown me something if he had stuck with him in that 6th inning… even if it didn’t work, just to say, ‘I believe in my guy.’” (05:26)
  • Yankees’ adherence to relief pitcher ‘lanes’ in key moments seen as classic “analytics over sense of urgency.”

  “You got to let emotion in and sometimes just go with your gut... that’s the difference from being very good to great.” – Don (08:18)

• Football comparison:
  • The Eagles’ decision to buck the “never pay running backs” trend by signing Saquon Barkley, ultimately producing Super Bowl results.
  • Life analogy: “If you played it safe the way everyone played it, maybe you wouldn’t have done all the great things that you’ve done in your life, right?” – Don (09:34)

3. Baseball & the “Heartbeat” Analogy (11:59–14:55)

• Peter’s baseball malaise: Argues analytics have made Yankees/Mets seasons repetitive and soulless.

  “If they were losing games but taking shots, you might be disappointed, but at least you don’t just feel bored. Like there’s no soul... analytics don’t measure heartbeat.” – Peter (12:20)

• Don likens today’s baseball to the Jetsons:

  “It’s all... programmed a certain way. My pitchers only throw 100 pitches... my players only play nine out of every ten days... I wouldn’t want to watch a sport that’s played by robots. I want to watch it played by human beings.” (13:44)

4. Parenting Humor: The Power-Slapping Daughter (14:31–17:29)

• Lighthearted segment where Peter and Don joke about Peter’s young daughter, Maya, slapping people—including the babysitter.

  “If 25 years from now... they find out that my daughter is doing power slap, my parents will get reincarnated as Rottweilers and bite my face off till I’m dead.” – Peter (16:01)

• Don and Peter riff on “greeting people by slapping”—“That’s going to be awkward for job interviews.” (17:23)

5. Listener Call-Ins: Sasso Game, Mets, and “Down Goes Straw” (17:34–26:41)

• Mike in Hawthorne shares heartfelt thanks for the Sasso event’s impact on the local community (18:13).
• Dave in Queens offers tongue-in-cheek Mets nicknames, recalls Upper West Side watering holes, and critiques Pete Alonso’s “Down Goes Straw” autograph.
  • Don and Peter defend Alonso, chalking it up to “quirky personality, not disrespect.”

  “He’s not the most socially cool dude, so he might not realize... It’s like trying a little too hard. But not in a bad way.” – Peter (23:45)
  “There’s also something kind of cool about not worrying what everybody thinks. The only person has to worry about is Darryl, and Darryl didn’t seem to have a problem with it.” – Don (25:05)

6. ESPN’s “Sports Misery Index” Segment (31:57–39:37)

• Don introduces the online “Misery Index” calculator—measures a fan’s pain based on favorite teams.
• Peter participates; the Commanders’ failings weigh his index down (“meh”).
• Producer Jacob’s Knicks/Mets/Jets fandom rates “woeful.” Adding the Liberty helps.

  “You find yourself looking up at your rivals.” – Don, reading a result (34:09)

• Playful jabs about rooting for too many teams, and discussion about New York fans’ relative misery.

7. Justin Fields, Quarterback “Ceiling” Debate (41:02–53:33)

• Calls about the Jets’ acquisition of Justin Fields:
  • JJ in North Carolina and Muhammad on Long Island hope Fields can succeed given the team context and playcalling.
  • Don’s perspective: “You want to win games and all that, but at some point you want to see if this kid can be a franchise quarterback. And the only way... is to have an arm.” (47:03)
• Can you win ‘just’ managing with Fields at QB?
  • Peter and Don compare to past “game manager” Super Bowl QBs (Doug Williams, Mark Rypien) but admit the modern league makes that path much tougher.

  “Could he be a good game manager who’s capable of getting you a Super Bowl? ... but we haven’t seen enough to say he could be a top guy in this version of what it is to be a great NFL quarterback.” – Peter (51:01)

  • Don: “They did save them some money... if he ends up having a great year, you can always revisit the contract.” (50:01)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Taking Risks in Sports and Life:

  “Greatness comes from going outside your comfort zone... If you fail, it stinks. But at least you could say, ‘At least I challenged myself.’” – Don (10:49)

• On Analytics in Baseball:

  “It’s like the Jetsons... I wouldn’t want to watch a sport that’s played by robots.” – Don (13:44) “No soul... analytics don’t measure heartbeat. And a game has a heartbeat.” – Peter (12:56)

• On Pete Alonso’s Signature:

  “He’s obviously goofing... it’s a reference to ‘Down goes Frazier’... it’s all silly.” – Peter (25:29)
  “To Peter’s point, that’s what we love about Pete... he sometimes is a little awkward.” – Don (24:15)

• On Quarterback Development:

  “Ultimately... the teams that win, you win with the arm of the quarterback.” – Don (47:03)

• Pop Culture Levity:

  “If my daughter is doing power slap, my parents will get reincarnated as Rottweilers and bite my face off till I'm dead.” – Peter (16:01)

Important Timestamps

• 00:56–05:04: Sasso Softball Game details and community focus
• 05:04–13:16: Heart vs. analytics in sports; Mets & Yankees debates
• 13:16–14:55: Baseball “robot” analogy
• 14:31–17:29: Parenting humor—Peter’s “slapper” daughter
• 17:34–26:41: Caller segment—community thanks, Alonso’s “Down Goes Straw”
• 31:57–39:37: ESPN Sports Misery Index and fandom hierarchy
• 41:02–53:33: Jets and Justin Fields QB discussion

Overall Tone & Takeaways

• Conversational, witty, passionate: The back-and-forth banter among Don, Peter, and callers makes complex sports topics accessible and entertaining.
• Spectrum of sports emotion: From advocating for thinking outside the analytics box, to riffing on parental struggles and local events, the episode blends the emotional highs and lows of New York sports and life itself.

For New York sports fans (and anyone who’s wondered if there’s still a place for gut feeling in a stat-driven world), this episode is a hook into both the struggle and the charm of fandom.