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	72	29	0.716	+7 games	$ 35 M
Toronto	66	35	0.652	+1 games	$ 72 M
Baltimore	66	35	0.651	+1 games	$ 73 M
Boston	59	42	0.585	-6 games	$ 120 M
New York Yankees	51	50	0.504	-14 games	$ 195 M
AL Central
Kansas City	70	31	0.694	+5 games	$ 47 M
Cleveland	69	32	0.678	+4 games	$ 56 M
Minnesota	67	34	0.667	+2 games	$ 63 M
Detroit	64	37	0.635	-1 games	$ 83 M
Chicago White Sox	61	40	0.607	-4 games	$ 103 M
AL West
Oakland	68	33	0.668	+3 games	$ 62 M
Texas	67	34	0.659	+2 games	$ 68 M
Seattle	63	38	0.628	-2 games	$ 88 M
Los Angeles Angels	61	40	0.607	-4 games	$ 103 M
NL East
Florida	76	25	0.756	+11 games	$ 15 M
Washington	67	34	0.667	+2 games	$ 63 M
Philadelphia	63	38	0.628	-2 games	$ 88 M
Atlanta	63	38	0.625	-2 games	$ 90 M
New York Mets	62	39	0.610	-3 games	$ 101 M
NL Central
Pittsburgh	70	31	0.694	+5 games	$ 47 M
Milwaukee	68	33	0.675	+3 games	$ 58 M
Cincinnati	68	33	0.670	+3 games	$ 61 M
St. Louis	63	38	0.627	-2 games	$ 89 M
Houston	63	38	0.621	-2 games	$ 93 M
Chicago Cubs	63	38	0.620	-2 games	$ 94 M
NL West
Colorado	71	30	0.705	+6 games	$ 41 M
Arizona	68	33	0.672	+3 games	$ 60 M
San Diego	66	35	0.655	+1 games	$ 70 M
San Francisco	63	38	0.625	-2 games	$ 90 M
Los Angeles Dodgers	62	39	0.614	-3 games	$ 98 M

Actual Standings

Team Wins Losses Winning Pct Expected Winning Pct Salary in Millions
AL East
New York Yankees 65 36 0.644 0.639 $ 195 M
Boston 65 36 0.644 0.550 $ 120 M
Baltimore 65 36 0.644 0.494 $ 73 M
Toronto 65 36 0.644 0.493 $ 72 M
Tampa Bay 65 36 0.644 0.449 $ 35 M
AL Central
Detroit 65 36 0.644 0.506 $ 83 M
Cleveland 65 36 0.644 0.474 $ 56 M
Chicago White Sox 65 36 0.644 0.530 $ 103 M
Minnesota 65 36 0.644 0.483 $ 63 M
Kansas City 65 36 0.644 0.464 $ 47 M
AL West
Seattle 65 36 0.644 0.512 $ 88 M
Oakland 65 36 0.644 0.481 $ 62 M
Texas 65 36 0.644 0.489 $ 68 M
Los Angeles Angels 65 36 0.644 0.530 $ 103 M
NL East
New York Mets 65 36 0.644 0.528 $ 101 M
Florida 65 36 0.644 0.426 $ 15 M
Washington 65 36 0.644 0.483 $ 63 M
Philadelphia 65 36 0.644 0.512 $ 88 M
Atlanta 65 36 0.644 0.515 $ 90 M
NL Central
Milwaukee 65 36 0.644 0.477 $ 58 M
Cincinnati 65 36 0.644 0.480 $ 61 M
Pittsburgh 65 36 0.644 0.464 $ 47 M
Houston 65 36 0.644 0.518 $ 93 M
Chicago Cubs 65 36 0.644 0.519 $ 94 M
St. Louis 65 36 0.644 0.513 $ 89 M
NL West
San Francisco 65 36 0.644 0.515 $ 90 M
Colorado 65 36 0.644 0.457 $ 41 M
Los Angeles Dodgers 65 36 0.644 0.524 $ 98 M
Arizona 65 36 0.644 0.479 $ 60 M
San Diego 65 36 0.644 0.491 $ 70 M