Calculate games back (games behind) in baseball standings from two teams’ win-loss records, or find the win total a team needs to reach a target gap.
Games Back Formula
Games back, often shown as GB in baseball standings, combines the difference in wins with the opposite difference in losses. The sum is divided by two:
A win by the chasing team closes one half game when the leader is idle. A loss by the leader also closes one half game. When they play each other, a chasing-team win changes both sides and closes one full game.
Example
Compare a 90-60 leader with an 86-64 team. The win difference is four and the loss difference is four. Their sum is eight, so the team is 4.0 games back.
Why Half Games Appear
Teams do not always have the same number of completed games because of scheduling and postponements. If only one side of the record gap changes, the standings difference changes by one half game.
Target Record Mode
The inverse mode rearranges the same formula to solve for the compared team's win total while its loss total stays fixed. It is a static record comparison and does not assume that the leader's record will remain unchanged in real life.
Interpreting Negative Results
A negative games-back result means the compared team is ahead under the entered records. The calculator relabels that magnitude as games ahead so the direction is clear.
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Sources
Society for American Baseball Research. A Truer Measure of Games Behind (discussion of the conventional formula and its limitations).
