Remaining schedule difficulty
The average current winning percentage of remaining opponents, weighted by games remaining against each. Higher means a tougher run-in. Home/away, travel, schedule density, recent form and head-to-head records against each opponent are not considered.
Central League
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| Difficulty rank | Team | Left | Avg. opponent pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiroshima | 13 | .518 |
| 2 | Yakult | 10 | .504 |
| 3 | DeNA | 9 | .497 |
| 4 | Hanshin | 12 | .464 |
| 5 | Chunichi | 7 | .451 |
| 6 | Yomiuri | 9 | .448 |
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Pacific League
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| Difficulty rank | Team | Left | Avg. opponent pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakuten | 12 | .548 |
| 2 | ORIX | 8 | .535 |
| 3 | Lotte | 14 | .526 |
| 4 | Seibu | 9 | .489 |
| 5 | SoftBank | 9 | .467 |
| 6 | Nippon-Ham | 8 | .441 |
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Darker cells mean a tougher remaining schedule (a higher average opponent winning percentage).
Bars and numbers show the gap from the league average in winning-percentage points (100x). Further right means an easier run-in; further left means tougher opponents remain. The difficulty column in the table is the winning percentage itself.
Strength of schedule: the same games left can weigh differently
Down the stretch, who you still have to play matters as much as how many games remain. The difficulty shown here (SoS, strength of schedule) is the average current winning percentage of remaining opponents, weighted by the number of games left against each. Higher means more strong opponents ahead.
It is a deliberately simple definition: home/away splits, travel, schedule density and recent form are not considered. Note that the odds board's simulation already bakes in the remaining matchups themselves.
Reading difficulty together with games remaining
The difficulty figure describes only how strong the remaining opponents are; how many games are left against them appears in the table's games-remaining column. Two clubs with the same difficulty are in very different positions if one has twenty games left and the other five. The table is meant to be read across both columns.
The chart shows the gap from the league average in winning-percentage points (the percentage multiplied by 100). A bar to the right means an easier schedule than the league average, to the left a tougher one. The difficulty in the table is the winning percentage itself, so the chart and the table use different units.
A club with no games left has no difficulty figure, so the table shows a dash. When fewer than two clubs in a league can be compared, the chart and the headline answer are omitted.
Frequently asked questions
How is the schedule difficulty (SoS) computed?
It is the weighted average of remaining opponents' current winning percentage, with games remaining against each opponent as weights. Home/away, travel, schedule density and recent form are not considered.
Why can a club with a tough remaining schedule still be higher in the standings?
Because the difficulty figure looks only at the strength of the opponents still to come and contains none of the results so far. The standings are the record to date; the difficulty is who is left. They describe different things.
Which games count toward the difficulty?
Every game left against an opponent the club still has at least one game with. Opponents with no games left carry zero weight and drop out. A club with no games left at all has no difficulty figure and is shown as a dash.