Carolina League

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

Carolina League
Carolina League logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945
No. of teams	8
Country	USA
Most recent champion(s)	Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Official website	Official Website

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. It is classified as a "Class A-Advanced" league.

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. 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.

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), Zack Greinke (Wilmington, 2003), 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.

League format

As of 2013, each team plays a 140-game schedule, with 20 games against each team. The division champions from the first half (before the All-Star break) and second half (after the break) of each season compete in a best-of-three divisional playoff (unless one team wins both halves, in which case they play the team with the second-best record of the second half of the season), with the winners advancing to the best-of-five league championship, the winner of which receives the Mills Cup. Before 2012, the divisional playoff was a best-of-five series.

To determine the first half winner if two or more teams are tied, the team with the better head-to-head record is declared the first half winner. If those record are also tied, then the winner of the first meeting in the second half is declared the winner. If two teams are tied at the end of the second half, a one-game playoff will determine the winner. Game 1 of the division playoff will take place at one site, with Game 2 and Game 3 if necessary at the other site. The winner of the first half is given the option of opening the series at home or on the road. If a team is the winner of both halves, it will host all games against the runner-up of the second half.

In even-numbered years, the Southern Division champion hosts the first two games of the Mills Cup series with the remaining necessary games at the Northern Division champion. In odd-numbered years, this format is reversed.^[1]

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
Northern	Frederick Keys	Baltimore Orioles (since 1982)	Frederick, Maryland	Harry Grove Stadium	5,400
	Lynchburg Hillcats	Cleveland Indians (since 2015)	Lynchburg, Virginia	Calvin Falwell Field	4,281
	Potomac Nationals	Washington Nationals (since 2005)	Woodbridge, Virginia	G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium	6,000
	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Kansas City Royals (since 2007)	Wilmington, Delaware	Daniel S. Frawley Stadium	6,404
Southern	Carolina Mudcats	Atlanta Braves (from 2015)	Zebulon, North Carolina	Five County Stadium	6,500
	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Chicago Cubs (from 2015)	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark	6,599
	Salem Red Sox	Boston Red Sox (since 2009)	Salem, Virginia	Lewis-Gale Field	6,300
	Winston-Salem Dash	Chicago White Sox (since 1997)	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 ⁽¹⁾

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
2013: Salem Red Sox
2014: Potomac Nationals
2015: Myrtle Beach Pelicans

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

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.^[3]

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, folded)
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)
Rocky 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 2014 season).

**Composite Standings (Current teams)**
Team	Years	W	L	Pct.	Titles
Wilmington Blue Rocks	22	1626	1432	.532	4
Myrtle Beach Pelicans	16	1145	1079	.515	2
Winston-Salem Dash	70	4943	4806	.507	11
Lynchburg Hillcats	49	3377	3404	.498	7
Frederick Keys ⁽¹⁾	34	2311	2397	.491	5
Salem Red Sox	46	3165	3353	.486	5
Potomac Nationals ⁽²⁾	37	2490	2633	.486	5
Carolina Mudcats	3	182	234	.436	0

(1)^ Includes Hagerstown from 1981–88.

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

References

↑ "Playoff Format". Carolina League. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ Young, Ryan (April 3, 2013). "Pelicans Through the Years". The Sun News. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
↑ "2013 Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book". p. 4.

External links

Carolina League

Northern Division	Frederick Keys Lynchburg Hillcats Potomac Nationals Wilmington Blue Rocks

Southern Division	Carolina Mudcats Myrtle Beach Pelicans Salem Red Sox Winston-Salem Dash

Professional baseball leagues

Americas

Major

Major League Baseball
- American League
- National League

Minor

Triple-A	International League Mexican League Pacific Coast League

Double-A	Eastern League Southern League Texas League

Class A Advanced	California League Carolina League Florida State League

Class A	Midwest League South Atlantic League

Class A Short-Season	New York–Penn League Northwest League

Rookie Advanced	Appalachian League Pioneer League

Rookie	Arizona League Dominican Summer League Gulf Coast League Venezuelan Summer League

Independent

Off-season

MLB-affiliated	Arizona Fall League Dominican Professional Baseball League Liga Paralela Mexican Pacific League Puerto Rico Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Independent	Colombian Professional Baseball League Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League Panamanian Professional Baseball League Veracruz Winter League

Defunct
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Asia

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Major	China Baseball League

Japan

Major	Nippon Professional Baseball Central League Pacific League

Minor	Eastern League Western League

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Major	KBO League

Minor	KBO Futures League

Taiwan

Major: Chinese Professional Baseball League
Minor: Popcorn League

Europe

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Major	Italian Baseball League 1D

Minor	Italian Baseball League 2D

Netherlands

Major	Honkbal Hoofdklasse

Minor	Honkbal Overgangsklasse

Rookie	Honkbal Rookie League

Oceania

Australia

MLB-affiliated:	Australian Baseball League

Inter-league and Professional National Team Championships

Asia Series Caribbean Series Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game World Baseball Classic

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