Carolina League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carolina League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945
No. of teams	8
Country(ies)	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Frederick Keys
Official website	Official Website

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic region 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. A few draftees, generally those taken in the early rounds of the draft and those with significant college experience, will be assigned to a High-A team upon signing a professional contract, but most players do not reach the High-A level until their third or fourth year of professional play.

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 for the Carolina League pennant, and most of the league's teams have represented towns and cities in North Carolina. 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-three divisional playoff, with the winners advancing to the best-of-five league championship, the winner of which receives the Mills Cup.

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), 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.

1 Current teams
- 1.1 Current team rosters
2 Carolina League Champions
3 Complete team list (1945-present)
4 Composite Standings
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
Northern	Frederick Keys	Baltimore Orioles	Frederick, Maryland	Harry Grove Stadium	5,400
	Lynchburg Hillcats	Pittsburgh Pirates	Lynchburg, Virginia	Calvin Falwell Field	2,000
	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	Kinston Indians	Cleveland Indians	Kinston, North Carolina	Grainger Stadium	4,100
	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Atlanta Braves	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	BB&T Coastal Field¹	4,875
	Salem Avalanche	Houston Astros	Salem, Virginia	Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium	6,300
	Winston-Salem Warthogs	Chicago White Sox	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Ernie Shore Field²	6,000

¹ Hosting 2008 California/Carolina League All-Star Game.

² To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium currently unnamed

[edit] Current team rosters

Main article: Carolina League rosters

[edit] Carolina League Champions

1945-Danville
1946-Raleigh
1947-Raleigh
1948-Martinsville
1949-Burlington
1950-Winston-Salem
1951-Winston-Salem
1952-Reidsville
1953-Danville
1954-Fayetteville
1955-Danville
1956-Fayetteville
1957-Durham
1958-Burlington
1959-Wilson
1960-Greensboro

1961-Wilson
1962-Kinston
1963-Wilson
1964-Winston-Salem
1965-Tidewater
1966-Rocky Mount
1967-Durham
1968-High Point-Thomasville
1969-Raleigh-Durham
1970-Winston-Salem
1971-Peninsula
1972-Salem
1973-Winston-Salem
1974-Salem
1975-Rocky Mount
1976-Winston-Salem

1977-Peninsula
1978-Lynchburg
1979-Peninsula
1980-Peninsula
1981-Hagerstown
1982-Alexandria
1983-Lynchburg
1984-Lynchburg
1985-Winston-Salem
1986-Winston-Salem
1987-Salem
1988-Kinston
1989-Prince William
1990-Frederick
1991-Kinston
1992-Peninsula

1993-Winston-Salem
1994-Wilmington
1995-Kinston
1996-Wilmington
1997-Lynchburg
1998-Wilmington
1999-Myrtle Beach, Wilmington (1)
2000-Myrtle Beach
2001-Salem
2002-Lynchburg
2003-Winston-Salem
2004-Kinston
2005-Frederick
2006-Kinston
2007-Frederick

(1) Series tied 2-2 when canceled because of Hurricane Floyd. Teams declared co-champions.

[edit] Complete team list (1945-present)


Alamance Indians (1958-64) Alexandria Dukes (1978, 1980-83) Alexandria Mariners (1979) Asheville Tourists (1967) Burlington Bees (1945-51) Burlington Rangers (1972) Burlington Senators (1965-71) Burlington-Graham Pirates (1952-55) Danville 97s (1998) Danville Leafs (1945-58) Durham Bulls (1945-67, 1980-97) Fayetteville Athletics (1950-52) Fayetteville Highlanders (1953-56) Frederick Keys (1989-present) Greensboro Patriots (1945-57, 1968) Greensboro Yankees (1958-67) Hagerstown Suns (1981-88) High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms (1954-58, 1968) High Point-Thomasville Royals (1969) Kinston Blue Jays (1982-85) Kinston Eagles (1956-57, 1962-73, 1978-81, 1986) Kinston Expos (1974) Kinston Indians (1987-present) Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets (1945-47) Lynchburg Hillcats (1995-present)	Lynchburg Mets (1976-87) Lynchburg Rangers (1975) Lynchburg Red Sox (1988-94) Lynchburg Twins (1970-74) Lynchburg White Sox (1966-69) Martinsville Athletics (1945-49) Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1999-present) Peninsula Astros (1969-70) Peninsula Grays (1964-68) Peninsula Pennants (1974) Peninsula Phillies (1971) Peninsula Pilots (1976-85, 1989-92) Peninsula Senators (1963) Peninsula White Sox (1986-87) Portsmouth Tides (1963-67) Potomac Cannons (1999-04) Potomac Nationals (2005-present) Prince William Cannons (1990-98) Prince William Pirates (1984-86) Prince William Yankees (1987-89) Raleigh Capitals (1945-53, 1957-62) Raleigh Cards (1964-65) Raleigh Mets (1963) Raleigh Pirates (1966-67) Raleigh-Durham Mets (1968) Raleigh-Durham Phillies (1969)	Raleigh-Durham Triangles (1970-71) Red Springs Twins (1969) Reidsville Luckies (1948-54) Reidsville Phillies (1955) Rocky Mount Leafs (1962-63, 1965-72) Rocky Mount Phillies (1973-75) Rocky Mount Pines (1980) Rocky Mount Senators (1964) Salem Avalanche (1995-present) Salem Buccaneers (1987-94) Salem Pirates (1972-79) Salem Rebels (1968-71) Salem Redbirds (1980-86) Tidewater Tides (1963-68) Virginia Generals (1988) Wilmington Blue Rocks (1993-present) Wilson Pennants (1973) Wilson Tobs (1956-68) Winston-Salem Cards (1945-53) Winston-Salem Redbirds (1957-60) Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961-83) Winston-Salem Spirits (1984-94) Winston-Salem Twins (1954-56) Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995-present)

[edit] Composite Standings

(through 62 years)

Composite Standings

Team	Years	W	L	Pct.	Titles

Wilmington Blue Rocks	14	1070	879	.549	4
Myrtle Beach Pelicans	8	590	524	.530	2
Kinston Indians	43	3137	2809	.528	6
Winston-Salem Warthogs	62	4373	4265	.506	11
Lynchburg Hillcats	41	2861	2812	.504	5
Frederick Keys	26	1780	1818	.495	3
Salem Avalanche	39	2599	2810	.480	4
Potomac Nationals	29	1899	2118	.473	2

[edit] See also

Sports league attendances

[edit] External links

v • d • e Carolina League

Northern Division	Frederick Keys • Lynchburg Hillcats • Potomac Nationals • Wilmington Blue Rocks

Southern Division	Kinston Indians • Myrtle Beach Pelicans • Salem Avalanche • Winston-Salem Warthogs

v • d • e

Professional baseball leagues

Major leagues

Current

US & Canada: Major League Baseball: American League · National League
Japan: Nippon Professional Baseball: Central League · Pacific League
South Korea: Korea Baseball Organization
Taiwan: Chinese Professional Baseball League

Defunct