In an other example, RIOT's standings page for the National League on the morning of August 30, 2012 showed that
Houston had already been eliminated from the playoffs.
| Clinch | Avoid Elim | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | GB | PCT | GL | 1st | Postseason | 1st | Postseason |
| Washington | 78 | 51 | - | 0.605 | 33 | 28 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 74 | 57 | 5 | 0.565 | 31 | * | 28 | 4 | 0 |
| New York | 61 | 69 | 17.5 | 0.469 | 32 | * | * | 17 | 12 |
| Philadelphia | 61 | 69 | 17.5 | 0.469 | 32 | * | * | 17 | 12 |
| Miami | 59 | 72 | 20 | 0.450 | 31 | * | * | 19 | 14 |
| Clinch | Avoid Elim | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | GB | PCT | GL | 1st | Postseason | 1st | Postseason |
| Cincinnati | 80 | 52 | - | 0.606 | 30 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Louis | 71 | 59 | 8 | 0.546 | 32 | * | 31 | 9 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 70 | 60 | 9 | 0.538 | 32 | * | 32 | 10 | 3 |
| Milwaukee | 62 | 67 | 16.5 | 0.481 | 33 | * | * | 18 | 11 |
| Chicago | 49 | 80 | 29.5 | 0.380 | 33 | * | * | 31 | 24 |
| Houston | 40 | 90 | 39 | 0.308 | 32 | * | * | Elim | Elim |
| Clinch | Avoid Elim | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | GB | PCT | GL | 1st | Postseason | 1st | Postseason |
| San Francisco | 73 | 57 | - | 0.562 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 4 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 70 | 61 | 3.5 | 0.534 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 7 | 3 |
| Arizona | 64 | 67 | 9.5 | 0.489 | 31 | * | * | 13 | 9 |
| San Diego | 61 | 71 | 13 | 0.462 | 30 | * | * | 16 | 12 |
| Colorado | 53 | 76 | 19.5 | 0.411 | 33 | * | * | 24 | 20 |
It is easy to see that Houston is eliminated from first place. If Houston were to win all 32 of their remaining games, they would finish with 72 wins. However, Cincinnati has already won 80 games; no matter what else happens in the season, Cincinnati will finish ahead of Houston in the NL Central.
The fact that Houston has also been elminated from reaching the postseason as a wild card team is not readily apparent from the standings. Since Washington, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Franciso already have better records than Houston, their only chance for the playoffs is to clinch the second wild card spot. St. Louis is currently in the lead for that spot with 71 wins. Since Houston still has a chance, however remote, of finishing the season with 72 wins, it looks as though they could still make the postseason as a wild card team. A closer look at the schedule, however, reveals that even a miracle winning streak would not allow Houston to make the playoffs.
Los Angeles, who have 70 wins so far, and St. Louis will play each other four more times before the end of season. There are no ties in baseball, which means that at least one of these teams will finish with at least 73 wins. If St. Louis wins two or more of those games, then they will finish the season with at least 73 wins; and if they win one or zero of those games, then Los Angeles will finish with at least 73 wins. Either way, Houston is eliminated from the playoffs because there will be at least five teams with better records at the end of the season.