As the MLB regular season comes to a close, the teams battling for a postseason spot are nearing their “magic number.” But what exactly does that mean?
Here is an explanation of a team’s magic number and how it is calculated.
What is a magic number?
A team’s magic number indicates how close it is to securing a playoff spot. The magic number could also be the team’s distance from winning the division or securing a wildcard spot.
How is a magic number calculated?
The formula for a team’s magic number is as follows:
163 – (total number of wins of the playoff team + total number of losses of the trailing team) = magic number
or
Remaining games + 1 – (defeats of second placed team – defeats of first placed team) = magic number.
A team’s magic number represents the combination of the number of wins that team needs and the number of losses of its closest competitor that would mathematically secure that team a place in the playoffs.
Every time a team wins, its magic number decreases by one. And every time that team’s closest rival for the division title (or a wild card spot) loses, the magic number also decreases by one.
Here is a hypothetical example:
Team A has a record of 87-69 and is currently in a playoff spot with six games remaining in the 162-game MLB regular season. Team B has a record of 84-72 and is three games behind Team A in the standings.
The magic number that will allow Team A to eliminate Team B and secure a spot in the playoffs is:
163 – (87 + 72) = 4
– or –
7 – (72 – 69) = 4
This means that a combination of four wins by Team A and losses by Team B would secure Team A a playoff spot.
What is the origin of the magic number?
The term “magic number” was first used in the 1947 championship race between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. A Washington Post article on September 12, 1947, stated: “The Yankees have reduced the magic number to four. That is the combination of games the Yankees must win or the Red Sox must lose to give the Yankees the championship.”
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