Carolina League

This article is about a baseball league currently in operation. For the independent baseball league that operated between 1936 and1938, see Carolina League (1936–1938).

Carolina League

Carolina League logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945
No. of teams	8
Country(ies)	USA
Most recent champion(s)	Lynchburg Hillcats
Official website	Official Website

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth step between Rookie ball and the major leagues. Although Minor League Baseball, the umbrella organization for minor leagues that are affiliated with Major League Baseball, has eliminated the distinction between High-A and other full-season A leagues, most major-league teams still use such leagues as a standard promotion step.

The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just as World War II was ending, and consisted of only two teams based in southern Virginia. Historically, however, as many as 12 teams in a given year have competed in the Carolina League, and most of the league's teams. Today, the league consists of eight teams in a region stretching from Delaware to South Carolina, and is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division. The division champions from the first half and second half of each season compete in a best-of-five divisional playoff, with the winners advancing to the best-of-five league championship, the winner of which receives the Mills Cup.

History

The league originated in the vicinity of Raleigh, North Carolina, and has since branched out.

A few of the many Carolina League players who have gone on to star in the Major Leagues are: Johnny Bench (Peninsula, 1966), Wade Boggs (Winston-Salem, 1977), Barry Bonds (Prince William, 1985), Rod Carew (Wilson, 1966), Dock Ellis (Kinston, 1965), Dwight Evans (Winston-Salem, 1971), Dwight Gooden (Lynchburg, 1983), Andruw Jones (Durham, 1996), Chipper Jones (Durham, 1992), Willie McCovey (Danville, 1956), Joe Morgan (Durham, 1963), Dave Parker (Salem, 1972), Tony Pérez (Rocky Mount, 1962), Andy Pettitte (Prince William, 1993), Jorge Posada (Prince William, 1993), Darryl Strawberry (Lynchburg, 1981), Bernie Williams (Prince William, 1988), and Carl Yastrzemski (Raleigh, 1959).

Director and screenwriter Ron Shelton's 1988 film Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon, depicted a fictionalized account of the Durham Bulls, at that time a Carolina League team (they have since become a Class AAA team in the International League). Before he began making films, Shelton had a five-year minor league career in the Baltimore Orioles' organization, which included a stint in the Carolina League.

The most recent change to the league's composition came in 2012, when the Kinston Indians relocated to Zebulon, North Carolina and became the Carolina Mudcats.

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
Northern	Frederick Keys	Baltimore Orioles	Frederick, Maryland	Harry Grove Stadium	5,400
	Lynchburg Hillcats	Atlanta Braves	Lynchburg, Virginia	Calvin Falwell Field	4,000
	Potomac Nationals	Washington Nationals	Woodbridge, Virginia	G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium	6,000
	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Kansas City Royals	Wilmington, Delaware	Daniel S. Frawley Stadium	6,532
Southern	Carolina Mudcats	Cleveland Indians	Zebulon, North Carolina	Five County Stadium	6,500
	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Texas Rangers	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark	4,875
	Salem Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	Salem, Virginia	Lewis-Gale Field	6,300
	Winston-Salem Dash	Chicago White Sox	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	BB&T Ballpark	5,500

Current team rosters

Main article: Carolina League rosters

Carolina League champions

1945: Danville Leafs 1946: Raleigh Capitals 1947: Raleigh Capitals 1948: Martinsville Athletics 1949: Burlington Bees 1950: Winston-Salem Cards 1951: Winston-Salem Cards 1952: Reidsville Luckies 1953: Danville Leafs 1954: Fayetteville Highlanders 1955: Danville Leafs 1956: Fayetteville Highlanders 1957: Durham Bulls 1958: Alamance Indians 1959: Wilson Tobs 1960: Greensboro Yankees

1961: Wilson Tobs 1962: Kinston Eagles 1963: Wilson Tobs 1964: Winston-Salem Red Sox 1965: Tidewater Tides 1966: Rocky Mount Leafs 1967: Durham Bulls 1968: High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 1969: Raleigh-Durham Triangles 1970: Winston-Salem Red Sox 1971: Peninsula Phillies 1972: Salem Pirates 1973: Winston-Salem Red Sox 1974: Salem Pirates 1975: Rocky Mount Phillies 1976: Winston-Salem Red Sox

1977: Peninsula Pilots 1978: Lynchburg Mets 1979: Peninsula Pilots 1980: Peninsula Pilots 1981: Hagerstown Suns 1982: Alexandria Dukes 1983: Lynchburg Mets 1984: Lynchburg Mets 1985: Winston-Salem Spirits 1986: Winston-Salem Spirits 1987: Salem Buccaneers 1988: Kinston Indians 1989: Prince William Yankees 1990: Frederick Keys 1991: Kinston Indians 1992: Peninsula Pilots

1993: Winston-Salem Spirits 1994: Wilmington Blue Rocks 1995: Kinston Indians 1996: Wilmington Blue Rocks 1997: Lynchburg Hillcats 1998: Wilmington Blue Rocks 1999: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Wilmington Blue Rocks () 2000: Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2001: Salem Avalanche 2002: Lynchburg Hillcats 2003: Winston-Salem Warthogs 2004: Kinston Indians 2005: Frederick Keys 2006: Kinston Indians 2007: Frederick Keys

2008: Potomac Nationals 2009: Lynchburg Hillcats 2010: Potomac Nationals 2011: Frederick Keys 2012: Lynchburg Hillcats

(1) ^ Myrtle Beach and Wilmington were declared co-champions when the series was tied 2–2 and canceled because of Hurricane Floyd.

All-time teams (1945–present)

All teams that have competed in the Carolina League from its founding in 1945. Teams in bold are currently active.

• Alamance Indians (1958–64, became the Burlington Senators)
• Alexandria Dukes (1978, became the Alexandria Mariners)
• Alexandria Dukes (1980–83, became the Prince William Pirates)
• Alexandria Mariners (1979, became the Alexandria Dukes)
• Asheville Tourists (1967, moved to Southern League)
• Burlington Bees (1945–51, became the Burlington-Graham Pirates)
• Burlington Rangers (1972, folded)
• Burlington Senators (1965–71, became the Burlington Rangers)
• Burlington-Graham Pirates (1952–55, folded)
• Carolina Mudcats (2012–present)
• Danville 97s (1998, became the Myrtle Beach Pelicans)
• Danville Leafs (1945–58, folded)
• Durham Bulls (1945–67, merged with the Raleigh Pirates and became the Raleigh-Durham Mets)
• Durham Bulls (1980–97, became the Danville 97s)
• Fayetteville Athletics (1950–52, became the Fayetteville Highlanders)
• Fayetteville Highlanders (1953–56, folded)
• Frederick Keys (1989–present)
• Greensboro Patriots (1945–57, became the Greensboro Yankees)
• Greensboro Patriots (1968, folded)
• Greensboro Yankees (1958–67, became the Greensboro Patriots)
• Hagerstown Suns (1981–88, became the Frederick Keys]]
• High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms (1954–58, folded)
• High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms (1968, became the High Point-Thomasville Royals)
• High Point-Thomasville Royals (1969, folded)
• [[Kinston Blue Jays (1982–85, became the Kinston Eagles)
• Kinston Eagles (1956–57, merged with the Wilson Tobs)
• Kinston Eagles (1962–73, became the Kinston Expos)
• Kinston Eagles (1978–81, became the Kinston Blue Jays)
• Kinston Eagles (1986, became the Kinston Indians)
• Kinston Expos (1974, folded)
• Kinston Indians (1987–2011, became the Carolina Mudcats)
• Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets (1945–47, moved to the Blue Ridge League)
• Lynchburg Hillcats (1995–present)
• Lynchburg Mets (1976–87, became the Lynchburg Red Sox)
• Lynchburg Rangers (1975, became the Lynchburg Mets)
• Lynchburg Red Sox (1988–94, became the Lynchburg Hillcats)
• Lynchburg Twins (1970–74, became the Lynchburg Rangers)
• Lynchburg White Sox (1966–69, became the Lynchburg Twins]]
• Martinsville Athletics (1945–49, folded)
• Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1999–present)
• Peninsula Astros (1969–70, became the Peninsula Phillies)
• Peninsula Grays (1964–68, became the Peninsula Astros)
• Peninsula Pennants (1974, folded)
• Peninsula Phillies (1971, folded)

• Peninsula Pilots (1976–85, became the Peninsula White Sox)
• Peninsula Pilots (1989–92, became the Wilmington Blue Rocks)
• Peninsula Senators (1963, became the Peninsula Grays)
• Peninsula White Sox (1986–87, became the Virginia Generals]]
• Potomac Cannons (1999–04, became the Potomac Nationals)
• Potomac Nationals (2005–present)
• Prince William Cannons (1990–98, became the Potomac Cannons)
• Prince William Pirates (1984–86, became the Prince William Yankees)
• Prince William Yankees (1987–89, became the Prince William Cannons]]
• Raleigh Capitals (1957–62, became the Raleigh Mets)
• Raleigh Capitals (1945–53, folded)
• Raleigh Cardinals (1964–65, became the Raleigh Pirates)
• Raleigh Mets (1963, became the Raleigh Cardinals)
• Raleigh Pirates (1966–67, merged with the Durham Bulls and became the Raleigh-Durham Mets)
• Raleigh-Durham Mets (1968, became the Raleigh-Durham Phillies)
• Raleigh-Durham Phillies (1969, became the Raleigh-Durham Triangles)
• Raleigh-Durham Triangles (1970–71)
• Red Springs Twins (1969, folded)
• Reidsville Luckies (1948–54, became the Reidsville Phillies)
• Reidsville Phillies (1955, folded)
• Rocky Mount Leafs (1962–63, became the Rocky Mount Senators)
• Rocky Mount Leafs (1965–72, became the Rocky Mount Phillies)
• Rocky Mount Phillies (1973–75, folded)
• Rock Mount Pines (1980, became the Hagerstown Suns)
• Rocky Mount Senators (1964, became the Rocky Mount Leafs)
• Salem Avalanche (1995–08, became the Salem Red Sox)
• Salem Buccaneers (1987–94, became the Salem Avalanche)
• Salem Pirates (1972–79, became the Salem Redbirds)
• Salem Rebels (1968–71, became the Salem Pirates)
• Salem Red Sox (2009–present)
• Salem Redbirds (1980–86, became the Salem Buccaneers)
• Tidewater Tides (1963–68, moved to the International League)
• Virginia Generals (1988, became the Peninsula Pilots)
• Wilmington Blue Rocks (1993–present)
• Wilson Pennants (1973, folded)
• Wilson Tobs (1956–68, folded)
• Winston-Salem Cardinals (1945–53, became the Winston-Salem Twins)
• Winston-Salem Dash (2009–present)
• Winston-Salem Red Birds (1957–60, became the Winston-Salem Red Sox)
• Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961–83, became the Winston-Salem Spirits)
• Winston-Salem Spirits (1984–94, became the Winston-Salem Warthogs)
• Winston-Salem Twins (1954–56, became the Winston-Salem Red Birds)
• Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995–08, became the Winston-Salem Dash)

Composite standings

(Through end of 2012 season).

Composite Standings (Current teams)

Team	Years	W	L	Pct.	Titles
Wilmington Blue Rocks	20	1498	1283	.539	4
Winston-Salem Dash	68	4811	4659	.508	11
Myrtle Beach Pelicans	14	986	961	.506	2
Lynchburg Hillcats	47	3240	3263	.498	7
Frederick Keys ()	32	2185	2247	.493	5
Salem Red Sox	44	3021	3221	.484	4
Potomac Nationals ()	35	2328	2520	.480	4
Carolina Mudcats	1	63	77	.450	0

(1)^ Includes Hagerstown from 1981–88.

(2)^ Includes Alexandria from 1978–83 and Prince William from 1984–98.

External links

• Carolina League Official site
• Carolina League Champions
• Carolina League at the Open Directory Project