Image 2-4: September 17th, 2020, AL Central Standings60 games are planned per team in 2020, so 10 games were left for the
White Sox. Using our formula, we can calculate the magic number.
(10 + 1) - (21 - 17) = 7
This means that White Sox will remain the top standing no matter the
results of the other team. Even if the Twins win all their remaining games
(39w21l), the White Sox will be ahead of them with 7 more wins
(40W21L). And this number reduces by 1 each time the White Sox wins
or the Twins loses.
So did White Sox manage to keep their position? Unfortunately they
recorded 2 wins and 8 losses in their remaining games and ended up in
3rd.
On the contrary, there is a term called tragic number. It represents the