Carolina League
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Carolina League logo | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 1945 |
President | Geoff Lassiter[1] |
No. of teams | 10 |
Country | USA |
Most recent champion(s) | Buies Creek Astros (2018) |
Most titles | Winston-Salem Dash (11) |
Classification | Class A-Advanced |
TV partner(s) | CSN Mid-Atlantic 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.
Contents
1 History
2 Current teams
2.1 Current team rosters
3 Past champions
4 Awards
5 All-time teams (1945–present)
6 References
7 External links
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).[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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 are tentatively scheduled to open 2019 at their new permanent home in nearby Fayetteville as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.[3]
Current teams
Division | Team | MLB Affiliation | City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern | Frederick Keys | Baltimore Orioles (since 1982) | Frederick, Maryland | Nymeo Field at 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 | Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium | 6,000 | |
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 | BB&T Ballpark | 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]
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References
^ "Personnel and Staff". Lynchburg Hellcats. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved December 10, 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ 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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carolina League. |
- Carolina League Official site
- Carolina League Champions
Carolina League at Curlie