Carolina League

Carolina League
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945
President	Geoff Lassiter[1]
No. of teams	10
Country	United States
Most recent; champion(s)	Wilmington Blue Rocks (2019)
Most titles	Winston-Salem Dash (11)
Classification	Class A-Advanced
TV partner(s)	NBC Sports Washington; Fox Sports Carolinas
Official website	www.carolinaleague.com

The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league 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 and six from North Carolina. Historically, however, as many as 12 teams in a given year have competed in the Carolina League. Today, the league consists of 10 teams in a region stretching from Delaware to South Carolina, and is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division.

History

The league was officially announced on October 29, 1944 after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. The league was a successor to the Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, Greensboro, Leaksville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem (all from North Carolina), along with Danville and Martinsville from Virginia.[2]

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.

On August 22, 2016, it was announced that the Carolina League would add two expansion teams for the 2017 season to fill two vacant spots at the High-A level previously occupied by the California League's Bakersfield Blaze and High Desert Mavericks franchises, which ceased operations at the end of the 2016 season. The Down East Wood Ducks play in Kinston, North Carolina, as an affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The Buies Creek Astros played in Buies Creek, North Carolina, in 2017 and 2018, and moved in 2019 to their new permanent home in nearby Fayetteville, rebranding as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.[3] The most recent change to the team's roster came in the 2019–20 offseason, with the Potomac Nationals relocating within Northern Virginia to Fredericksburg and rebranding themselves as the Fredericksburg Nationals.

Current teams

Current team locations:

Northern Division

Southern Division

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
Northern	Frederick Keys	Baltimore Orioles (since 1982)	Frederick, Maryland	Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium	5,400
	Fredericksburg Nationals	Washington Nationals (since 2005)	Fredericksburg, Virginia	New Fredericksburg Ballpark	5,000
	Lynchburg Hillcats	Cleveland Indians (since 2015)	Lynchburg, Virginia	Calvin Falwell Field	4,281
	Salem Red Sox	Boston Red Sox (since 2009)	Salem, Virginia	Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark	6,300
	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Kansas City Royals (since 2007)	Wilmington, Delaware	Daniel S. Frawley Stadium	6,404
Southern	Carolina Mudcats	Milwaukee Brewers (since 2017)	Zebulon, North Carolina	Five County Stadium	6,500
	Down East Wood Ducks	Texas Rangers (since 2017)	Kinston, North Carolina	Grainger Stadium	4,100
	Fayetteville Woodpeckers	Houston Astros (since 2017)	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Segra Stadium	4,786
	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Chicago Cubs (since 2015)	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark	6,599
	Winston-Salem Dash	Chicago White Sox (since 1997)	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Truist Stadium	5,500

Current team rosters

Past champions

Awards

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.[4]

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)
Buies Creek Astros (2017–2018; became the Fayetteville Woodpeckers)
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)
Down East Wood Ducks (since 2017; playing in Kinston, NC)
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)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers (2019–present)
Frederick Keys (1989–present)
Fredericksburg Nationals (2020–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 (2005–19, became the Fredericksburg Nationals)
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)

League timeline (1945-present)

Current team Former team

References

"Personnel and Staff". Lynchburg Hellcats. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
Barrier, Smith (November 2, 1944). "Wilson Heads Carolina Loop: Seven Franchises Awarded to N.C. Cities, Another to Danville, Va". The Sporting News.
Glaser, Kyle. "Carolina League To Add Two Franchises In 2017". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
"2013 Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book". p. 4.

External links

Carolina League Official site

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[1] "Personnel and Staff". Lynchburg Hellcats. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved December 10, 2018.

[:0-2] Barrier, Smith (November 2, 1944). "Wilson Heads Carolina Loop: Seven Franchises Awarded to N.C. Cities, Another to Danville, Va". The Sporting News.

[3] Glaser, Kyle. "Carolina League To Add Two Franchises In 2017". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.

[4] "2013 Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book". p. 4.