Detroit Tigers First-Place Clinch Scenario Detroit's traditional magic number (relative to second-place Kansas City) is 46 + 68 - 59 + 1 = 56. Detroit's first-place clinch number is 57. Detroit must win 57 more games (116 total) to clinch first place. If Detroit wins 57 more games, their final win total will be at least 116. The table below shows the best case scenario for each of the other teams if Detroit wins 57 of their remaining 68 games and loses the other 11. 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 57 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 Minnesota 45 47 70 0 115 Cleveland 43 48 71 0 114 Kansas City 46 48 68 0 114 Chicago 31 62 69 0 100 The table above shows that if Detroit wins 57 more games (116 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 57, consider the following scenario in which Detroit wins 56 more games (115 total) but does not finish in first place: Team W L PCT GB Minnesota 115 47 0.710 0.00 Detroit 115 47 0.710 0.00 Kansas City 85 77 0.525 30.00 Cleveland 76 86 0.469 39.00 Chicago 75 87 0.463 40.00 Tie breakers Minnesota wins the season series with Detroit 9 games to 4. To construct the scenario, we start with the current standings in the division: Team W L GL PCT GB Detroit 59 35 68 0.628 0.0 Kansas City 46 48 68 0.489 13.0 Minnesota 45 47 70 0.489 13.0 Cleveland 43 48 71 0.473 14.5 Chicago 31 62 69 0.333 27.5 Next, we show how the remaining series of games in the division play out in the scenario: Chicago currently has 0 wins against Cleveland and 3 losses. Chicago wins 10 additional games against Cleveland and loses 0. Chicago wins the series 10 games to 3 Cleveland currently has 4 wins against Kansas City and 2 losses. Cleveland wins 5 additional games against Kansas City and loses 2. Cleveland wins the series 9 games to 4 Detroit currently has 5 wins against Chicago and 2 losses. Detroit wins 5 additional games against Chicago and loses 1. Detroit wins the series 10 games to 3 Detroit currently has 4 wins against Cleveland and 3 losses. Detroit wins 5 additional games against Cleveland and loses 1. Detroit wins the series 9 games to 4 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 Kansas City currently has 5 wins against Chicago and 2 losses. Kansas City wins 6 additional games against Chicago and loses 0. Kansas City wins the series 11 games to 2 Minnesota currently has 4 wins against Chicago and 2 losses. Minnesota wins 7 additional games against Chicago and loses 0. Minnesota wins the series 11 games to 2 Minnesota currently has 2 wins against Cleveland and 4 losses. Minnesota wins 7 additional games against Cleveland and loses 0. Minnesota wins the series 9 games to 4 Minnesota currently has 2 wins against Detroit and 4 losses. Minnesota wins 7 additional games against Detroit and loses 0. Minnesota wins the series 9 games to 4 Minnesota currently has 3 wins against Kansas City and 4 losses. Minnesota wins 6 additional games against Kansas City and loses 0. Minnesota wins the series 9 games to 4 Chicago wins 33 games agains teams outside the division and loses 7. Cleveland wins 27 games agains teams outside the division and loses 14. Detroit wins 40 games agains teams outside the division and loses 3. Kansas City wins 31 games agains teams outside the division and loses 12. Minnesota wins 43 games agains teams outside the division and loses 0. 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