With a little over a week remaining in the regular season, the MLB playoffs are fast approaching. Three teams have already secured a seat at the table including the Dodgers—owners of MLB's best record at a sparkling 36-15 (.706 winning percentage)—who are headed to the playoffs for a franchise-best eighth straight season. The White Sox (making their first postseason trip since 2008) and Rays join the Dodgers among this year's early October qualifiers.
Usually the playoff chase is whittled down to only a handful of contenders by now, but with MLB choosing to expanding its postseason field to 16 this year, the final week of 2020 promises to be even more chaotic than usual with many surprise clubs—the upstart Marlins and Blue Jays among them—still showing a pulse. How close—or far away—is your favorite team to making the 2020 postseason? Listed below is each team's updated Magic Number, courtesy of Twitter account MLB Magic Numbers (@MLBMagNum). For those needing a refresher, a "Magic Number" represents the combined number of wins and losses by a club's closest competitor needed to make the postseason.
Magic Number for Clinching Division (Games Through September 17)
AL East
Tampa Bay Rays 6
New York Yankees 14
Toronto Blue Jays 17
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
AL Central
Chicago White Sox 6
Minnesota Twins 13
Cleveland Indians 17
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
AL West
Oakland Athletics 4
Houston Astros 17
Seattle Mariners 20
Los Angeles Angels
Texas Rangers
NL East
Atlanta Braves 9
Miami Marlins 15
Philadelphia Phillies 16
New York Mets 17
Washington Nationals 22
NL Central
Chicago Cubs 7
Cincinnati Reds 16
Milwaukee Brewers 18
St. Louis Cardinals 19
Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 5
San Diego Padres 14
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks
Magic Number for Clinching Playoff Spot (Games Through September 17)
AL East
*Tampa Bay Rays
New York Yankees 4
Toronto Blue Jays 7
Baltimore Orioles 16
Boston Red Sox 19
AL Central
*Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 2
Cleveland Indians 6
Detroit Tigers 17
Kansas City Royals 17
AL West
Oakland Athletics 2
Houston Astros 7
Seattle Mariners 14
Los Angeles Angels 14
Texas Rangers 18
NL East
Atlanta Braves 6
Miami Marlins 10
Philadelphia Phillies 11
New York Mets 13
Washington Nationals 18
NL Central
Chicago Cubs 4
Cincinnati Reds 11
Milwaukee Brewers 13
St. Louis Cardinals 13
Pittsburgh Pirates 21
NL West
*Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 3
San Francisco Giants 10
Colorado Rockies 14
Arizona Diamondbacks 17
*Already clinched playoff spot
These would be the first-round matchups if the playoffs started today (via Lewisville Sluggers Podcast on Twitter):
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