How to Figure MLB Standings

Major League Baseball has 30 teams in 28 different cities across the U.S. and Canada. There are two leagues: the American League, which has 14 teams, and the National League, which has 16 teams. The leagues are split into three divisions each: the East Division, Central Division and West Division. Where these teams rank in the standings decides who plays in the playoffs and, possibly, the World Series, each season. Figuring the standings is a case of simple arithmetic.

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a team in a particular division and look up their total games won and total games lost. For example, Team A is in first place and has won 58 games and lost 51 games. Figure the team's winning percentage by adding those two numbers together and dividing the number of wins by that total. In this case, 58 plus 51 is 109, and 58 divided by 109 results in a winning percentage of .532.

    • 2

      Choose another team in that division and look at their total games won and lost. For example, Team B has won 55 games and lost 54 games, which results in a winning percentage of .505.

    • 3

      Determine the number of games back that Team B is from Team A when they have played the same amount of games. Team B has won three fewer games and lost three more games than Team A, so Team B is three games back of first place.

    • 4

      Find the number of games back that Team C is from Team A when they have played a different amount of games. This is a bit trickier. In the example, if Team C has won 57 games and lost 56 games (for a winning percentage of .504), they are three games back of Team A. Team C has won one fewer game than Team A, but lost five more games. Take the difference between the number of games won (in this case, one) and the games lost (in this case, five), add them up and divide by two to find the number of games back:

      1 + 5 = 6

      6 / 2 = 3

    • 5

      Examine the number of games back Team D is from Team A when Team D has played an even number of games and Team A has played an odd number. In the example, if Team D has won 52 games and lost 56 games (for a winning percentage of .481), they are 5 1/2 games back of Team A. Team D has won six fewer games than Team A, and lost five more games. Take the total difference between the number of games won (in this case, six) and the games lost (in this case, five), add them up and divide by two:

      6 + 5 = 11

      11 / 2 = 5 1/2

    • 6

      Determine the wild-card standings in the same manner. All teams that are not winning their respective division are eligible to make the playoffs by earning their league's wild-card berth, which goes to the runner-up with the best winning percentage. So, in our example, Team B and Team C are competing for the wild-card spot. Team B is the same number of games back as Team C is, but because Team B has a higher winning percentage (.505) than Team C (.504), Team B would be first in line for the wild card.