The title is not about the famous "Who's on First?" comedy routine by Abbott and Costello. I checked the major league baseball standings this morning and saw something unusual. The standings shown in the American League East division by CBSSports and FoxSports are:
Place Team Won Lost PCT GB (Games Behind)
1. New York Yankees 43 20 .683 1.0
2. Boston Red Sox 47 22 .681 —
ESPN showed the teams in reverse order.
I don't recall ever having seen this -- a first place team "behind" the second place team. It is a consequence of the Red Sox having played 6 more games. They won 4 of them, yielding a PCT (.667) that is lower than their PCT for all games.
Why all three websites use the heading PCT -- and this is the convention followed for all or nearly all sports standings (in English) -- is understandable but not exact. 0.683 is a ratio; 68.3 is the correct PCT for the Yankees. Ratio or W/G would be a more accurate heading.
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