MLB Magic Numbers

As we enter the first week of September, the last month of the MLB season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the magic numbers of the league’s contenders.

First of all, what is a magic number?

Here’s a brief definition and example that should help clarify the term.

A magic number refers to the amount of games a division leader has to win to guarantee that they will win their division.  So, if Team A’s magic number is 5 and they have 13 games remaining, the club has to win 5 of their final 13 games to claim the division title.

Alright, so how do you calculate this magic number?

I’m glad you asked.

The formula that is used by Major League Baseball goes a little something like this.  First, you take the number of games that a division leading team has remaining and add 1.  You then subtract the difference of the number of losses between the division leader and the second place team.

Here’s what I just said in equation form.

Magic Number = (Games Remaining + 1) – (Losses of Second Place Team – Losses of Division Leader)

OK, so let’s see how this works using the current standings.  I’ll use the team with the smallest magic number as the example.

The Philadelphia Phillies have the Major’s best record, but they do not have the league’s smallest magic number.  Instead, it currently belongs to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Substituting the Brewers current numbers into our equation, this is what we come up with.

Brewers’ Magic Number = (23 + 1) – (65 – 57)

Brewers’ Magic Number = 16

Here’s a look at the rest of the division leader’s magic numbers, followed by the number of games they have remaining.

New York Yankees – 25 : 25

Detroit Tigers – 21 : 24

Texas Rangers – 20 : 23

Philadelphia Phillies – 19 : 28

Arizona Diamondbacks – 20 : 24