2026 Magic Number Thread

[formerlybis]

Prior to the games on 8/18 (and I'm doing this by the formula: 163 - current # of Brewer wins - other team's current # of losses):

• To win the division: 33

Other magic numbers:

• To finish with a better record than LAD: 34 (due to tiebreaker owned by MKE)
• To finish with a better record than ATL: 35
• To clinch any playoff spot (SDP currently has #3 WC): 27
• First team that MKE can clinch having a better record than (i,e., the worst team - currently Colorado, but SF is in hot pursuit): 11

[wiguy94]

To clinch any playoff spot would be 25. You would use Arizona because they are 7th in the NL not San Diego. They have 60 losses but the Brewers have the tiebreaker over them so it would be 162-77-60=25.

[formerlybis]

28 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

To clinch any playoff spot would be 25. You would use Arizona because they are 7th in the NL not San Diego. They have 60 losses but the Brewers have the tiebreaker over them so it would be 162-77-60=25.

Y'know, I deliberated over this exact thing, and my mind landed on being better than SD would guarantee beating them out for the last spot. Me confuzzled. 

[liveforoctober]

Not letting this year's thread go without including Cy.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

For #32, we have the epitome of what you think of as an all-or-nothing power-hitting 1B ... Mr. John Jaha

[Yaz19]

[tmwiese55]

47 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

For #32, we have the epitome of what you think of as an all-or-nothing power-hitting 1B ... Mr. John Jaha

Side note, Jaha might be the most unknown random to have a .300/ 30 HR/ 100 RBI season.  Then at age 33 almost had another one but avg was a bit too low, gee I wonder what was going on in the late 90s

[Yaz19]

7 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

Side note, Jaha might be the most unknown random to have a .300/ 30 HR/ 100 RBI season.  Then at age 33 almost had another one but avg was a bit too low, gee I wonder what was going on in the late 90s

Jaha was injury prone.  That was a shame because he was a decent hitting first baseman.

[Dragonbait]

A personal request... when putting up a picture, can we put a caption/name on it if it doesn't have one. 

[BruisedCrew]

1 hour ago, Dragonbait said:

A personal request... when putting up a picture, can we put a caption/name on it if it doesn't have one. 

I have asked for this every year with mixed results.

It can be fun to come up with that obscure player who appeared in two games in 1996, but I think they should be identified.

 

[BruisedCrew]

19 hours ago, formerlybis said:

Y'know, I deliberated over this exact thing, and my mind landed on being better than SD would guarantee beating them out for the last spot. Me confuzzled. 

To be completely precise, with this many games left things like clinching the division or a playoff spot may not have one “magic number”. 

The magic number works with respect to Team A finishing ahead of Team B, and it’s determined by Team A wins and Team B losses. 

The magic number of 32 is the Brewers magic number to guarantee finishing ahead of the Cubs. But, theoretically, the Cardinals could get hot while the Cubs fall apart and move into second place, and that would flip the focus for the magic number.

The magic number for clinching any playoff spot would be even more complicated because of how many teams could move into that 7th spot.

But, as long as it’s understood that the target for the magic number could change, using the Cubs for the division and Arizona for the playoff spot would be the correct targets today. 

At least the magic number can never go up. 

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

Side note, Jaha might be the most unknown random to have a .300/ 30 HR/ 100 RBI season.  Then at age 33 almost had another one but avg was a bit too low, gee I wonder what was going on in the late 90s

And he didn't even get an MVP vote that year.

Five players had over 140 RBIs.  Two more had over 130 RBIs.  17 players had 40 or more HRs.

Hell, the player who led the league in hits (gold star if you can name him without looking) didn't get one single MVP vote that year.

[nate82]

14 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Hell, the player who led the league in hits (gold star if you can name him without looking) didn't get one single MVP vote that year.

Without looking it up I would say either Molitor or Puckett would be the answer.  

[igor67]

I'll guess John Olerud

 

[tmwiese55]

1996, maybe Kenny Lofton

[bm1090]

I looked him up and yeah, never would have guessed.

Molitor was 2nd.

[wiguy94]

Spoiler

Jandel Gustave