salary adjusted standings -- methodology

salary-adjusted 2007 mlb baseball standings:
2007 average team salary: $77.56 million

In baseball, as with most things in life, having money is a considerable advantage. Teams with more money tend to win more, as well they should. This site applies a "salary handicap" to level the playing field (so to speak). Every team is evaluated based not on its "real" record, but rather on its expected winning percentage given its salary.

The handicap is applied based on a formula derived from salary and winning percentage data from 1997-2007

Salary-Adjusted Standings

Team	Adjusted Wins	Adjusted Losses	Adjusted Winning Pct	Record Adjustment	Salary in Millions
AL East
Tampa Bay	108	54	0.666	+11 games	$ 35 M
Toronto	98	64	0.607	+1 games	$ 72 M
Baltimore	98	64	0.605	+1 games	$ 73 M
Boston	88	74	0.544	-9 games	$ 120 M
New York Yankees	76	86	0.468	-21 games	$ 195 M
AL Central
Kansas City	105	57	0.646	+8 games	$ 47 M
Cleveland	102	60	0.631	+5 games	$ 56 M
Minnesota	100	62	0.620	+3 games	$ 63 M
Detroit	96	66	0.591	-1 games	$ 83 M
Chicago White Sox	92	70	0.565	-5 games	$ 103 M
AL West
Oakland	101	61	0.622	+4 games	$ 62 M
Texas	99	63	0.613	+2 games	$ 68 M
Seattle	95	67	0.584	-2 games	$ 88 M
Los Angeles Angels	92	70	0.565	-5 games	$ 103 M
NL East
Florida	114	48	0.703	+17 games	$ 15 M
Washington	100	62	0.620	+3 games	$ 63 M
Philadelphia	95	67	0.584	-2 games	$ 88 M
Atlanta	94	68	0.582	-3 games	$ 90 M
New York Mets	92	70	0.567	-5 games	$ 101 M
NL Central
Pittsburgh	105	57	0.646	+8 games	$ 47 M
Milwaukee	102	60	0.628	+5 games	$ 58 M
Cincinnati	101	61	0.623	+4 games	$ 61 M
St. Louis	94	68	0.583	-3 games	$ 89 M
Houston	94	68	0.578	-3 games	$ 93 M
Chicago Cubs	93	69	0.576	-4 games	$ 94 M
NL West
Colorado	106	56	0.656	+9 games	$ 41 M
Arizona	101	61	0.625	+4 games	$ 60 M
San Diego	99	63	0.610	+2 games	$ 70 M
San Francisco	94	68	0.582	-3 games	$ 90 M
Los Angeles Dodgers	93	69	0.571	-4 games	$ 98 M

Actual Standings

Team Wins Losses Winning Pct Expected Winning Pct Salary in Millions
AL East
New York Yankees 97 65 0.599 0.639 $ 195 M
Boston 97 65 0.599 0.550 $ 120 M
Baltimore 97 65 0.599 0.494 $ 73 M
Toronto 97 65 0.599 0.493 $ 72 M
Tampa Bay 97 65 0.599 0.449 $ 35 M
AL Central
Detroit 97 65 0.599 0.506 $ 83 M
Cleveland 97 65 0.599 0.474 $ 56 M
Chicago White Sox 97 65 0.599 0.530 $ 103 M
Minnesota 97 65 0.599 0.483 $ 63 M
Kansas City 97 65 0.599 0.464 $ 47 M
AL West
Seattle 97 65 0.599 0.512 $ 88 M
Oakland 97 65 0.599 0.481 $ 62 M
Texas 97 65 0.599 0.489 $ 68 M
Los Angeles Angels 97 65 0.599 0.530 $ 103 M
NL East
New York Mets 97 65 0.599 0.528 $ 101 M
Florida 97 65 0.599 0.426 $ 15 M
Washington 97 65 0.599 0.483 $ 63 M
Philadelphia 97 65 0.599 0.512 $ 88 M
Atlanta 97 65 0.599 0.515 $ 90 M
NL Central
Milwaukee 97 65 0.599 0.477 $ 58 M
Cincinnati 97 65 0.599 0.480 $ 61 M
Pittsburgh 97 65 0.599 0.464 $ 47 M
Houston 97 65 0.599 0.518 $ 93 M
Chicago Cubs 97 65 0.599 0.519 $ 94 M
St. Louis 97 65 0.599 0.513 $ 89 M
NL West
San Francisco 97 65 0.599 0.515 $ 90 M
Colorado 97 65 0.599 0.457 $ 41 M
Los Angeles Dodgers 97 65 0.599 0.524 $ 98 M
Arizona 97 65 0.599 0.479 $ 60 M
San Diego 97 65 0.599 0.491 $ 70 M