Baseball 101: What is a magic number?

September 29, 5:03 PMBoston Baseball ExaminerSteve Weissman

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Even the most casual Boston baseball fan by now is aware that the Red Sox 'magic number' to clinch a playoff spot is one. But what exactly does that mean? 

Simply put, the 'magic number' represents the combination of games a first-place team must win or its closest rival must lose to assure more victories than anyone else. Every time it wins, the number goes down by one because that's a game that no longer can be lost – and every time its closest rival loses, the number goes down by one as well because that's a game the rival no longer can win.

In the current case, having a magic number of one means that the Sox will finish with more wins than the Texas Rangers if either they win once more or the Rangers lose once more before the season ends. It also means the Sox right now have clinched a tie, for if they don't win again and the Rangers don't lose, the two clubs will finish with the same number of wins.

The mathematical-minded of you may be interested in the formula used to calculate the magic number. Without getting into all the whys-and-wherefores (plenty of that to be found on the Web!), simply subtract as follows:

Magic Number = 163 – [number of first-place team's wins] – [number of second-place team's losses]

Or do what I do: let the announcers tell you! Which they will, over and over again ...