If you have been a baseball fan for all of your life, as I have been, you know all about the magic number. In this modern era of wild card teams, of course, the number can be two pronged. Now, you need to consider your division leader as well as your wild card leader to "do the math," so to speak.
↵This year, for instance, Minnesota has 75 wins, and the Indians have 78 losses. Ergo, the best the Tribe could do is 84 wins, so Minnesota’s magic number over Cleveland is 10. Any combination of Twins' wins and Cleveland losses adding up to 10 and the Central Division will be out of reach. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Tampa Bay have 81 wins, so their magic number over the Indians is only four.
↵Obviously the Indians are without hope, but hey, we made it through August and we are "still alive" … (he said to the sound of crickets chirping.)
↵Are you like me? Did you watch the "Magic Number" shrink down when you were younger and hope (because you were younger and not jaded by the "real world") for some September miracle?