What is the "magic number" in base ball?

Question

How is this calculated? What does it mean?

Answer 1

It is the number of wins the division leader needs to guarantee the division championship. If the division leader wins that number (or the number two team loses that number or a combination thereof), then, regardless of what the other teams in the division do, the division leader is guaranteed a division championship.  

Answer 2

It is the combination of the first place teams games left and the second place teams game left and how many wins and losses needed to clinch.

Answer 3

The number of games before a team is eliminated from playoff contention.

Answer 4

You can figure any teams magic number with respect to any other team by subtracting your team's wins and the other tyeam's losses from 163.  What that means is that any combination of wins by your team and losses by the other will result in the other team being eliminated from winning the division over your team.

Answer 5

magic number is how many games are left in the season minus how many games ahead of the second place team the first place team is

example.

if there are 20 games left in the season and the first place team is 10 games ahead of the second place team, the first place teams magic number is 10.

that means either the 1st place team has to win 10 more games or the second place team has to lose 10 more games or a combination of both, and the first place team will win the division

Answer 6

Combined number of wins for a leading team and losses from trailing team that will eliminate the trailing team from contention.

Answer 7

The magic number is calculated as G + 1 − WA − LB, where

G is the total number of games in the season

WA is the number of wins that team A has in the season

LB is the number of losses that team B has in the season.

Team A 50 Wins 30 Losses

Team B   25 Wins 55 Losses

In a 162 game schedule.

163+1-50-55=58

Team A's magic number 58, too eliminate Team B from ever catching Team A.

You cannot figure the Magic Number in Micheal's anwser, because not enough information is given.  

Answer 8

The "magic number" in baseball is the amount of games left before the team is eliminated.

Answer 9

It is the number that is the combination of wins the 1st place team gets and loses that the 2nd place team gets that would cause the team in 1st place to clinch the division. So suppose the magic number for a team A is 3 and team B is in 2nd place. Team A wins on a given day and on that same day team B loses that makes the magic number 1. After that any win for Team A or a lose from Team B would cause Team A to win the division.