Watching the Orioles and Rays alternately surge and struggle as they grappled for the American League East lead and subsequent bye in the wild-card round of postseason play, it brought to mind one of my favorite sayings when baseball’s magic numbers fall into single digits.
It isn’t until then, with a clinching number below 10 and less than two weeks to go, that nervous time kicks in full blast. That’s when the mathematical possibilities come into play — when the number of wins by the leading team combined with losses by the one trailing equals the clinching, or “magic” number — soon to be followed by corks popping, liquids flowing and bad dancing.
The saying, actually, isn’t mine, just one that’s been used annually by managers of teams involved in the kind of race we’ve been watching, and I’m sure endorsed (if not said) by both Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and Rays skipper Kevin Cash.
It comes in the form of a question and goes like this: “Do you know how difficult it is to win (fill in the number) games when you have to?”
Given the fact that the “magic number” is actually a combination of wins and losses, you can understand this is a question most frequently asked by the chasing team’s manager, a subtle way of introducing doubt into the equation. It is the one Cash has no doubt relied on from time to time during the last couple of weeks, as his team first overtook the Orioles, then slipped a notch, resuming the role of chaser.
On the other hand, the manager of the team being chased is all too aware that the only guarantee to reach the “magic number” is to win all the remaining games. It is probably a thought that has crossed Hyde’s mind during this crazy run, but not one he dwelt on. Even with the “magic number” down to a makeable three, and with odds strongly in his favor but nothing guaranteed until it’s … well, guaranteed … you can be assured the three numbers that remain to be checked are the next step Hyde referred to when, after clinching a playoff spot, he told his troops: “This is only the beginning.”
It will be an electric atmosphere at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this week. Let the countdown begin.
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox