Formula for Games Behind

[rhec...@tufts.edu]

I'm trying to set up a web page for our local girls softball team and I
am having a problem coming up with a formula for figuring Games Behind..
I found one at:

http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/questionCorner/baseball.html

but unfortunately it doesn't work. I'm looking for a formula that takes
into account "Games in Hand" and can handle one team having played x
amount of games while the other has played more or less games.

The other part of my question is: Our league has a time limit on games
so ties, although rare, do happen. Is it possible to take ties into
account in a games behind formula. I'm not sure if it's possible for a
MLB game to end in a tie under some weird set of circumstances but if it
is I'm sure the standard formula doesn't allow for them. Assuming
someone has the formula are there any ideas on how to modify it to allow
for ties?

Thanks

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[Michael Wagner]

The definition of games behind is the number of games the team with the
worse record would have to win in head to head competition with the team
with the better record in order to have an equal record. Ties are
interesting. I would include them as one-half win and one half loss.

So if a team A is 12 wins, 4 losses, 2 ties; and team B is 10 wins, 8
losses, 1 tie. Getting rid of the ties, team A is 13 and 5. Team B is 10.5
and 8.5.

Team B is then [(WinsA-WinsB)+(LossesB-LossesA)] divided by 2. In this
case, it is equal to [2.5+3.5]divided by 2, or 3 games back.

Note that "games back" only has meaning if the 2 teams eventually end up
playing exactly the same number of games, like in major league baseball. If
this is not the case in your league, just use winning percentage.

[Ev]

Ties, I believe, are totally negligable. Like in the NHL.

[Bill Townsend]

Hello;
Ties are *very* important in the NHL. Consider:
TeamA with 32 wins 20 losses 5 ties
TeamB with 30 wins 17 losses 10 ties
TeamA has a better record and is 2 1/2 games ahead in won-loss
but TeamB goes to the playoffs because:
TeamA 32+5=69 points
TeamB 30+10=70 points

[Harold E. Brooks]

In article <35783449...@statestreet.com>, Bill Townsend
<betow...@statestreet.com> wrote:

> Hello;
> Ties are *very* important in the NHL. Consider:
> TeamA with 32 wins 20 losses 5 ties
> TeamB with 30 wins 17 losses 10 ties
> TeamA has a better record and is 2 1/2 games ahead in won-loss
> but TeamB goes to the playoffs because:
> TeamA 32+5=69 points
> TeamB 30+10=70 points

No, TeamA is 1/2 a game behind in won-loss (12 games over .500,
compared to 13 games over for TeamB). Actually, for teams having
played the same number of games, the difference in points is twice
the difference in games behind.

Harold

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Norman, OK

[John P. Lemek]

In article <35783449...@statestreet.com>,
Bill Townsend <betow...@statestreet.com> wrote:
>
>Hello;
>Ties are *very* important in the NHL. Consider:
>TeamA with 32 wins 20 losses 5 ties
>TeamB with 30 wins 17 losses 10 ties
>TeamA has a better record and is 2 1/2 games ahead in won-loss

This is incorrect. TeamA would be 2.5 games up if you swapped
the losses around. As it stands, TeamB is .5 games ahead.

Look at it like this(ignoring ties and looking at W-L only), TeamB
has "played" 5 fewer games that TeamA. If TeamB wins those 5 games,
it is at 35-17. If TeamB had been 2.5 games back, they should have
ended up with the same record.

>but TeamB goes to the playoffs because:
>TeamA 32+5=69 points
>TeamB 30+10=70 points

Which is sort of the equivalent of being .5 games ahead.

John
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Home: (914) 471-9803 | 1996 IBL Champions
Work: (914) 433-7008 | Owner, Yellowknife Moose
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___________________________________________________________________________

[Michael Wagner]

I agree with this. Ties cannot be ignored, because the game has been played
and the results must be included in the basis of further calculations.
Ignoring ties means that all of the teams in the league do not end up playing
the same number of games, and so the concept of "games back" has no meaning in
this league.

The formula for games ahead for team A is then:

games ahead = [winsA+tiesA-winsB-tiesB+lossesB-lossesA]/2
in its simplest form.