Winning percentage

"Win-loss record" redirects here. For the baseball statistic, see Win–loss record (pitching).

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses (i.e. — the total number of matches). Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win. Winning percentage is one way to compare the record of two teams; however, another standard method most frequently used in baseball and professional basketball standings is games behind.

For example, if a team's season record is 28–16–5 (i.e., it has won twenty-eight games, lost sixteen and tied five times), the team has participated in 49 matches. The five ties represent 2½ wins and 2½ losses, and so the team has an adjusted record of 30½ wins and 18½ losses, resulting in a .622 winning percentage.

In baseball, pitchers are assessed wins and losses as an individual statistic and thus have his or her own winning percentage, based on his or her win–loss record. A pitcher's winning percentage is commonly expressed to three digits.

The name "winning percentage" is actually a misnomer, since a winning percentage, such as .536, is commonly not expressed as a percentage. The same value expressed as a percentage would be 53.6%. In leagues in which points are awarded for ties and overtime losses, it's possible for a team to have a winning percentage above 0.500 (50%) despite losing more than half of the games it has played.

Statistics

Major League Baseball

Win %	Wins	Losses	Year	Team	Comment
.798	67	17	1880	Chicago Cubs	best pre-modern season
.763	116	36	1906	Chicago Cubs	best National League 154-game season
.721	111	43	1954	Cleveland Indians	best American League 154-game season
.716	116	46	2001	Seattle Mariners	best 162-game season
.265	43	119	2003	Detroit Tigers	worst 162-game season
.248	38	115	1935	Boston Braves	worst modern National League season
.235	36	117	1916	Philadelphia Athletics	worst American League season
.130	20	134	1899	Cleveland Spiders	worst pre-modern season

National Basketball Association

Win %	Wins	Losses	Season	Team	Comment
.878	72	10	1995–96	Chicago Bulls	best 82-game season
.106	7	59	2011–12	Charlotte Bobcats	worst season statistically

National Hockey League

In ice hockey, standings are determined by points, not wins, changing the nature of this statistic. In the National Hockey League, teams are awarded two points for a win, and one point for either a tie (a discontinued statistic) or an overtime loss. Since this calculation is not based solely on wins, the statistic is called points percentage. It can be calculated as follows:

$\mathrm{Points}\ \mathrm{percentage} = \frac{\mathrm{Points}}{\mathrm{Total \ possible \ points}} = \frac{ \mathrm{Overtime \ Losses + (2 \times Wins)}}{\mathrm{ 2 \times Games \ Played }}$

Points %	Wins	Losses	Ties	Points	Season	Team	Comments
.825	60	8	12	132	1976–77	Montreal Canadiens	best points % in post-expansion NHL
.131	8	67	5	21	1974–75	Washington Capitals	worst points % in post-expansion NHL

Further information: List of NHL records (team)