Why do PDs care about research (on a philosophical level)

I'm trying to go into a competitive specialty and decided to take a year off for research to improve my chances. It makes me wonder though, what is it about research that makes residencies find you a better applicant? Seems to me that if you can find a good mentor, it's very easy to publish a bunch of papers. All research is at a med student level is copy pasting data off of patient charts into an excel sheet, dumping it on a statistician to do the dirty work, and then mimicking an already... Why do PDs care about research (on a philosophical level)
Source: Student Doctor Network - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: forums