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	102	51	0.669	+10 games	$ 35 M
Toronto	93	60	0.609	+1 games	$ 72 M
Baltimore	93	60	0.608	+1 games	$ 73 M
Boston	84	69	0.546	-8 games	$ 120 M
New York Yankees	72	81	0.470	-20 games	$ 195 M
AL Central
Kansas City	99	54	0.648	+7 games	$ 47 M
Cleveland	97	56	0.634	+5 games	$ 56 M
Minnesota	95	58	0.623	+3 games	$ 63 M
Detroit	91	62	0.594	-1 games	$ 83 M
Chicago White Sox	87	66	0.567	-5 games	$ 103 M
AL West
Oakland	96	57	0.624	+4 games	$ 62 M
Texas	94	59	0.615	+2 games	$ 68 M
Seattle	90	63	0.587	-2 games	$ 88 M
Los Angeles Angels	87	66	0.567	-5 games	$ 103 M
NL East
Florida	108	45	0.706	+16 games	$ 15 M
Washington	95	58	0.623	+3 games	$ 63 M
Philadelphia	90	63	0.587	-2 games	$ 88 M
Atlanta	89	64	0.584	-3 games	$ 90 M
New York Mets	87	66	0.570	-5 games	$ 101 M
NL Central
Pittsburgh	99	54	0.648	+7 games	$ 47 M
Milwaukee	96	57	0.631	+4 games	$ 58 M
Cincinnati	96	57	0.626	+4 games	$ 61 M
St. Louis	90	63	0.586	-2 games	$ 89 M
Houston	89	64	0.580	-3 games	$ 93 M
Chicago Cubs	89	64	0.579	-3 games	$ 94 M
NL West
Colorado	101	52	0.658	+9 games	$ 41 M
Arizona	96	57	0.628	+4 games	$ 60 M
San Diego	94	59	0.612	+2 games	$ 70 M
San Francisco	89	64	0.584	-3 games	$ 90 M
Los Angeles Dodgers	88	65	0.574	-4 games	$ 98 M

Actual Standings

Team Wins Losses Winning Pct Expected Winning Pct Salary in Millions
AL East
New York Yankees 92 61 0.601 0.639 $ 195 M
Boston 92 61 0.601 0.550 $ 120 M
Baltimore 92 61 0.601 0.494 $ 73 M
Toronto 92 61 0.601 0.493 $ 72 M
Tampa Bay 92 61 0.601 0.449 $ 35 M
AL Central
Detroit 92 61 0.601 0.506 $ 83 M
Cleveland 92 61 0.601 0.474 $ 56 M
Chicago White Sox 92 61 0.601 0.530 $ 103 M
Minnesota 92 61 0.601 0.483 $ 63 M
Kansas City 92 61 0.601 0.464 $ 47 M
AL West
Seattle 92 61 0.601 0.512 $ 88 M
Oakland 92 61 0.601 0.481 $ 62 M
Texas 92 61 0.601 0.489 $ 68 M
Los Angeles Angels 92 61 0.601 0.530 $ 103 M
NL East
New York Mets 92 61 0.601 0.528 $ 101 M
Florida 92 61 0.601 0.426 $ 15 M
Washington 92 61 0.601 0.483 $ 63 M
Philadelphia 92 61 0.601 0.512 $ 88 M
Atlanta 92 61 0.601 0.515 $ 90 M
NL Central
Milwaukee 92 61 0.601 0.477 $ 58 M
Cincinnati 92 61 0.601 0.480 $ 61 M
Pittsburgh 92 61 0.601 0.464 $ 47 M
Houston 92 61 0.601 0.518 $ 93 M
Chicago Cubs 92 61 0.601 0.519 $ 94 M
St. Louis 92 61 0.601 0.513 $ 89 M
NL West
San Francisco 92 61 0.601 0.515 $ 90 M
Colorado 92 61 0.601 0.457 $ 41 M
Los Angeles Dodgers 92 61 0.601 0.524 $ 98 M
Arizona 92 61 0.601 0.479 $ 60 M
San Diego 92 61 0.601 0.491 $ 70 M