With the MLB regular season winding down and the Yankees still in the hunt for a playoff spot, I went about looking for their magic number and on a side-quest to find out how it’s computed. The actual computation of a magic number is 162 – (your team’s wins – the other team’s losses). The “other team” is the second place team if your team’s in first place or the first place team if your team isn’t. As of this morning, the Yanks are in first place with 93 wins and 65 losses. The Red Sox are in second with 92 wins and 66 losses. 162 – (93 + 66) = 3. Any combination of three Yankee wins and Red Sox losses will ensure at least a tie for first place in the American League East division. (If you want to determine the magic number for winning it outright, add one.) The Red Sox magic number is five (162 – 92 – 65).

While looking into the magic number system, I came across UC Berkeley’s RIOT system. It uses schedule to determine the minimal number of additional wins a team needs to a) clinch at least a tie for their division b) clinch at least a tie for a playoff spot c) avoid being eliminated from contending for first place in their division and d) avoid being eliminated from contending for a playoff spot.