Houston Astros Magic Number: What It Is & How Close Are They to Clinching?

Okay, so I’ve been following the Houston Astros religiously this season. It’s been a rollercoaster, honestly. And like any die-hard fan, I’ve been obsessing over their “magic number.” If you are not sure what the magic number is, the simple explanation is the combined number of Astros wins and the losses of the next closest division rival that add up to the total number of games. That didn’t used to make any sense to me either, so a simpler explanation is when the magic number gets to 0, the Astros clinch the division. So, yeah, it’s a big deal.

I decided I needed to figure this out myself, instead of relying on news sites. Figured it would be, I dunno, more authentic. Plus, a fun little project, right?

My Process (It Wasn’t Pretty)

First, I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen – old school, I know. I started by finding the Astros’ current record and the record of their closest competitor in the AL West which, for much of this time, was the Texas Rangers. I thought “Okay, basic math, I can do this!” Famous last words, right?

• Step 1: I wrote down the number of games remaining in the season. Simple enough.
• Step 2: I looked up the Astros’ wins and the Rangers’ losses.
• Step 3: Then it went sideways. I was adding, subtracting, getting confused… my paper was a MESS of crossed-out numbers.

I finally gave up on paper, it was making my head hurt. Then I did what most people would do, I looked it up. I found a lot of sites that would calculate the magic number for me, but I had a lot of tabs open and felt like I was cheating and just wanted the formula.

I found a simple formula for finding the magic number that went like this:

G + 1 – W_A – L_B

Where G is the number of games, W is wins, and L is Loss. A is the team you want to find the number of, and B is the next closest contenter.

I plugged in the numbers for wins and losses for the teams and games left and I got the magic number. It wasn’t as hard as I was first making it.

The result? Well, the magic number is going down, which is awesome! It means the Astros are getting closer and closer to clinching the division. My little DIY calculation project, even with the initial struggles, made me feel more connected to the whole process. Now I can confidently check and calculate the number whenever I want, and you can too! Go ‘Stros!