So what does a magic number represent? And how do you calculate it?

 So what does a magic number represent? And how do you calculate it?

For starters, here is the formula for the number:

Magic number = 163 – (Playoff team’s win total + trailing team’s loss total)

The number represents the combination of a team’s wins and an opponent’s losses that would result in a fan’s favorite team mathematically-clinching a playoff berth.

By way of example, we can take the Chicago Cubs, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon.

The victory gave the Cubs a record of 71-62 on the season, and a two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks for a wild card berth.

Assuming that the Diamondbacks win on Wednesday night, they would leapfrog the Giants in the wild card standings.

The Giants currently have a record of 69-64. As a result, the Cubs’ magic number to eliminate the Giants would be:

163 – (71 + 64) = 28

That means that a combination of 28 Cubs wins and Giants losses would eliminate San Francisco and secure a playoff berth for the Cubs in the National League.

Of course, the Cubs could still win the division, as they only trail the Brewers by three games after taking two-of-three from Milwaukee this week.