Magic number
What is magic number in baseball?
The magic number is the number of matches required for the team to clinch the playoff or divisional win. A magic number changes each time when the team wins or loses. Each team’s victory decreases that number by one. The same is effective if the lower opponents lose. Its formula is games remaining+1 – (Losses of the second place team – losses of the second place team). Let’s look at the examples.
At the start of the season, that result will be 162+1 – (0 – 0) = 163. That’s impossible. The results are unbelievable, so seeing the magic number closer to the playoff is more prominent.
Let’s estimate the possibility of the Baltimore Orioles appearing in the 2022 Wild Card round outcoming on August 24, 2022. The team has played 122 games; the remaining regular games are 40. Astros, who leads the NL race, have 45 losses, Yankees at the second – 48. Orioles have 64 victories and 58 losses. Their magic number is:
40+1 – (48 – 45) = 41 – 3 = 38. Thus, they need to win every game. Three losses will destroy their wild card ambitions.