Detroit Tigers First-Place Clinch Scenario

Detroit's traditional magic number (relative to second-place Cleveland) is 40 + 80 - 53 + 1 = 68.
Detroit's first-place clinch number is also 68.
Detroit must win 68 more games (121 total) to clinch first place.

If Detroit wins 68 more games, their final win total will be at least 121.
The table below shows the best case scenario for each of the other teams if Detroit wins 68 of their remaining 77 games and loses the other 9.
For each team, the table shows the current record (number of wins (W) and losses (L)) and the number of games that team has
left to play (GL) in the regular season. Taking the schedule of games left to play into account, the 'Losses to Detroit' column gives the
minimum number of games that each team will lose to Detroit if Detroit wins 68 more games. Assuming that a team wins all of its remaining games except for
the games it loses to Detroit, the resulting maximum number of wins is shown in the 'Maximum W' column.

Team             W	L	GL	Losses to Detroit	Maximum W
Cleveland        40	42	80	               0	120
Minnesota        40	44	78	               0	118
Kansas City      39	45	78	               0	117
Chicago          28	56	78	               0	106

The table above shows that if Detroit wins 68 more games (121 total), then they will finish the season in first place in the division.

To see that Detroit's first-place clinch number cannot be less than 68, consider the following scenario in which Detroit wins 67 more games (120 total) but does not finish in first place:

Team             W	L	PCT	GB
Cleveland        120	42	0.741	0.00
Detroit          120	42	0.741	0.00
Kansas City      83	79	0.512	37.00
Minnesota        82	80	0.506	38.00
Chicago          81	81	0.500	39.00

Tie breakers
Cleveland wins the season series with Detroit 12 games to 1.

To construct the scenario, we start with the current standings in the division:
Team             W	L	GL	PCT	GB
Detroit          53	32	77	0.624	0.0
Cleveland        40	42	80	0.488	11.5
Minnesota        40	44	78	0.476	12.5
Kansas City      39	45	78	0.464	13.5
Chicago          28	56	78	0.333	24.5

Next, we show how the remaining series of games in the division play out in the scenario:


Chicago currently has 2 wins against Kansas City and 5 losses.
  Chicago wins 5 additional games against Kansas City and loses 1.
  Chicago wins the series 7 games to 6

Chicago currently has 2 wins against Minnesota and 4 losses.
  Chicago wins 6 additional games against Minnesota and loses 1.
  Chicago wins the series 8 games to 5

Cleveland currently has 3 wins against Chicago and 0 losses.
  Cleveland wins 10 additional games against Chicago and loses 0.
  Cleveland wins the series 13 games to 0

Cleveland currently has 3 wins against Detroit and 1 losses.
  Cleveland wins 9 additional games against Detroit and loses 0.
  Cleveland wins the series 12 games to 1

Cleveland currently has 4 wins against Kansas City and 2 losses.
  Cleveland wins 7 additional games against Kansas City and loses 0.
  Cleveland wins the series 11 games to 2

Cleveland currently has 4 wins against Minnesota and 2 losses.
  Cleveland wins 7 additional games against Minnesota and loses 0.
  Cleveland wins the series 11 games to 2

Detroit currently has 5 wins against Chicago and 2 losses.
  Detroit wins 6 additional games against Chicago and loses 0.
  Detroit wins the series 11 games to 2

Detroit currently has 5 wins against Kansas City and 2 losses.
  Detroit wins 6 additional games against Kansas City and loses 0.
  Detroit wins the series 11 games to 2

Detroit currently has 4 wins against Minnesota and 2 losses.
  Detroit wins 7 additional games against Minnesota and loses 0.
  Detroit wins the series 11 games to 2

Minnesota currently has 3 wins against Kansas City and 4 losses.
  Minnesota wins 4 additional games against Kansas City and loses 2.
  Minnesota wins the series 7 games to 6

Chicago wins 42 games agains teams outside the division and loses 7.
Cleveland wins 47 games agains teams outside the division and loses 0.
Detroit wins 48 games agains teams outside the division and loses 1.
Kansas City wins 41 games agains teams outside the division and loses 12.
Minnesota wins 37 games agains teams outside the division and loses 14.

Combining the current standings with the wins and losses from the scenario results in the final standings listed above.
# Detroit Tigers' magic number
# Detroit's magic number
# Tigers' magic number
# MLB Playoff Race