What Does the MLB Magic Number Meaning? What is the Formula?
In MLB as soon as the playoffs season comes near, we can hear everyone talking about the MLB Magic Number of their respective teams. The magic number is an estimated value for a particular team that tells how many matches the team needs to win and how many matches the opponent team has to lose. It is called MLB Magic Number because it gives us a percentage through a formula by which a team can guess their success in playoffs.
Calculation of the MLB Magic Number
Magic Number is an advanced official statistic that is calculated by combining wins of a team and losses needed from the team’s competitor. What is the calculation of the magic number? The formula for Magic Number is:
(Total games played in a Season) +1- (Total losses for team A)- (Total Losses for Team B) = Magic Number
Let’s take an example of how the formula works. There is a total of 162 games played during a season. Suppose that there is no game played yet so there are 0 wins for a team and 0 losses for a team. Hence at the start of a season, the Magic Number of every team is 163.
Another Example would be imagined if Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers have played 140 games and the remaining games are 22. Red Sox has won 100 and lost 40 whereas Brewers have won 90 and lost 50. Brewers Magic number to win the division would be:
22+1-(50-40) = 13
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How Do Teams Reach Magic Number?
There are different scenarios in which a team can win the division. In the example discussed earlier where Milwaukee Brewers needs 13 wins to reach the division. How can a team reach their magic number? They can achieve that if the Red Sox losses 13 games from the rest of the 22.
Tie Between Two Teams
In baseball where some exciting situations happen there are confusing ones too. What happens if two teams tie at the end of the regular season? In this situation, an additional tiebreaker game is played between both the teams or the team who won most of the games during the season is awarded the crown.
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Tie between more than one Team
A tie between two teams is itself a rare thing but baseball has seen tie between two teams. So, has baseball seen three or more teams tie? It’s astonishing to hear yes in 2016 four teams got into a tie between Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers. How Many Tie Breaker Games has Baseball had? Till now there have been almost 16 tie games in MLB history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Magic Number go up in Baseball?
No, Magic Number always goes down as soon as games start in the season. Magic Numbers goes down from 162 to 0.
What is a Good Magic Number?
A good Magic Number lies between 1 to 1.5 because 0 is an exceptional case for a team but teams tend to achieve them too.
Why is three considered a Magic Number?
Three is considered a good magic number because it creates a sense of rhythm and brevity. It is believed that every stat that comes with three numbers is perfect. However, a good start is between 1 to 1.5.
The Bottom Line on MLB Magic Number Meaning
In conclusion, the MLB Magic Number has gained a lot of attention since every team keeps a keen eye on their magic number as soon as the season starts. Magic Number is an official stat that helps out a team estimate how many games they need to win during the season.
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