Carolina League

This article is about the baseball league founded in 1945. For the independent baseball league that operated between 1936 and 1938, seeCarolina League (1936–1938).

TheCarolina Leagueis aMinor League Baseballleague which has operated along theAtlantic Coast of the United Statessince 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated atClass A-Advancedfrom 1990 until its demotion toSingle-AfollowingMajor League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as theLow-A Eastbefore reassuming its original moniker in 2022.

Carolina League

Classification	Single-A(2022–present) Low-A(2021) Class A-Advanced(1990–2020)
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1945(1945)
No. of teams	12
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Charleston RiverDogs(2023)
Most titles	Winston-Salem Dash(11)
Official website	www.carolinaleague.com

The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just asWorld War IIwas ending, and consisted of eight teams, six fromNorth Carolinaand two from southernVirginia.This later grew to as many as 12 teams at times.

History

The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting atDurham,North Carolina. It was a successor to theClass DBi-State Leaguethat existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based inBurlington,Durham,Greensboro,Leaksville,Raleigh,Winston-Salem(all from North Carolina), along withDanvilleandMartinsvillefrom Virginia.

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), andCarl Yastrzemski(Raleigh, 1959).

Director and screenwriterRon Shelton's 1988 filmBull Durham,starringKevin Costner,Tim Robbins,andSusan Sarandon,depicted a fictionalized account of theDurham Bulls,at that time a Carolina League team (they have since become a Class AAA team in theInternational League). Before he began making films, Shelton had a five-year minor league career in theBaltimore Orioles' organization, which included a stint in the International League.

The Carolina League added twoexpansion teamsfor the 2017 season to fill two vacant spots at theClass A-Advancedlevel previously occupied by theCalifornia League'sBakersfield BlazeandHigh Desert Mavericks,which ceased operations at the end of the 2016 season. These additional teams were theDown East Wood DucksinKinston, North Carolina,and theBuies Creek AstrosinBuies Creek, North Carolina.After the 2018 season, the Buies Creek Astros relocated toFayetteville, North Carolinaas theFayetteville Woodpeckers.After the 2019 season, the Potomac Nationals relocated withinNorthern VirginiatoFredericksburg,rebranding themselves as theFredericksburg Nationals.

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemicbefore ultimately being cancelled on June 30.As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Carolina League was demoted to Single-A and temporarily renamed the "Low-A East" for the 2021 season.In the realignment process, theFrederick Keyswere demoted out of professional baseball, theWilmington Blue RocksandWinston-Salem Dashwere shifted to theSouth Atlantic League(retaining their High-A status), and five teams were moved from the old SAL to bring the CL to twelve member teams. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the Carolina League name was restored effective with the 2022 season.

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
North	Carolina Mudcats	Milwaukee Brewers	Zebulon, North Carolina	Five County Stadium	6,500
	Delmarva Shorebirds	Baltimore Orioles	Salisbury, Maryland	Arthur W. Perdue Stadium	5,200
	Down East Wood Ducks	Texas Rangers	Kinston, North Carolina	Grainger Stadium	4,100
	Fredericksburg Nationals	Washington Nationals	Fredericksburg, Virginia	Virginia Credit Union Stadium	5,000
	Lynchburg Hillcats	Cleveland Guardians	Lynchburg, Virginia	Bank of the James Stadium	4,000
	Salem Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	Salem, Virginia	Salem Memorial Ballpark	6,300
South	Augusta GreenJackets	Atlanta Braves	North Augusta, South Carolina	SRP Park	4,782
	Charleston RiverDogs	Tampa Bay Rays	Charleston, South Carolina	Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park	6,000
	Columbia Fireflies	Kansas City Royals	Columbia, South Carolina	Segra Park	7,501
	Fayetteville Woodpeckers	Houston Astros	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Segra Stadium	4,786
	Kannapolis Cannon Ballers	Chicago White Sox	Kannapolis, North Carolina	Atrium Health Ballpark	4,930
	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Chicago Cubs	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	Pelicans Ballpark	6,599

150km
100miles

Pelicans

12

Cannon Ballers

11

Woodpeckers

10

Fireflies

9

RiverDogs

8

GreenJackets

7

Red Sox

6

Hillcats

5

Nationals

4

Wood Ducks

3

Shorebirds

2

Mudcats

1

  

Current team locations:

North Division

South Division

1

Carolina Mudcats

2

Delmarva Shorebirds

3

Down East Wood Ducks

4

Fredericksburg Nationals

5

Lynchburg Hillcats

6

Salem Red Sox

7

Augusta GreenJackets

8

Charleston RiverDogs

9

Columbia Fireflies

10

Fayetteville Woodpeckers

11

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

12

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Champions

Main article:List of Carolina League champions

Awards

Main article:Baseball awards § Carolina League

All-time teams (1945–present)

All teams that have competed in the Carolina League since its founding in 1945:

• Alamance Indians(1958–1964, became the Burlington Senators)
• Alexandria Dukes(1978, became the Alexandria Mariners)
• Alexandria Dukes(1980–1983, became the Prince William Pirates)
• Alexandria Mariners(1979, became the Alexandria Dukes)
• Asheville Tourists(1967, moved toSouthern League)
• Augusta GreenJackets(2021–present)
• Buies Creek Astros(2017–2018; became the Fayetteville Woodpeckers)
• Burlington Bees(1945–1951, became the Burlington-Graham Pirates)
• Burlington Rangers(1972, folded)
• Burlington Senators(1965–1971, became the Burlington Rangers)
• Burlington-Graham Pirates(1952–1955, folded)
• Carolina Mudcats(2012–present)
• Charleston RiverDogs(2021–present)
• Columbia Fireflies(2021–present)
• Danville 97s(1998, became the Myrtle Beach Pelicans)
• Danville Leafs(1945–1958, folded)
• Delmarva Shorebirds(2021–present)
• Down East Wood Ducks(2017–present)
• Durham Bulls(1945–1967, merged with the Raleigh Pirates and became the Raleigh-Durham Mets)
• Durham Bulls(1980–1997, became the Danville 97s)
• Fayetteville Athletics(1950–1952, became the Fayetteville Highlanders)
• Fayetteville Highlanders(1953–1956, folded)
• Fayetteville Woodpeckers(2019–present)
• Frederick Keys(1989–2020, moved toMLB Draft League)
• Fredericksburg Nationals(2020–present)
• Greensboro Patriots(1945–1957, became the Greensboro Yankees)
• Greensboro Patriots(1968, folded)
• Greensboro Yankees(1958–1967, became the Greensboro Patriots)
• Hagerstown Suns(1981–1988, became the Frederick Keys)
• High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms(1954–1958, folded)
• High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms(1968, became the High Point-Thomasville Royals)
• High Point-Thomasville Royals(1969, folded)
• Kannapolis Cannon Ballers(2021–present)
• Kinston Blue Jays(1982–1985, became the Kinston Eagles)
• Kinston Eagles(1956–1957, merged with the Wilson Tobs)
• Kinston Eagles(1962–1973, became the Kinston Expos)
• Kinston Eagles(1978–1981, 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(1945–1947, moved to theBlue Ridge League)
• Lynchburg Hillcats(1995–present)
• Lynchburg Mets(1976–1987, became the Lynchburg Red Sox)
• Lynchburg Rangers(1975, became the Lynchburg Mets)
• Lynchburg Red Sox(1988–1994, became the Lynchburg Hillcats)
• Lynchburg Twins(1970–1974, became the Lynchburg Rangers)
• Lynchburg White Sox(1966–1969, became the Lynchburg Twins)
• Martinsville Athletics(1945–1949, folded)
• Myrtle Beach Pelicans(1999–present)

• Peninsula Astros(1969–1970, became the Peninsula Phillies)
• Peninsula Grays(1964–1968, became the Peninsula Astros)
• Peninsula Pennants(1974, folded)
• Peninsula Phillies(1971, folded)
• Peninsula Pilots(1976–1985, became the Peninsula White Sox)
• Peninsula Pilots(1989–1992, became the Wilmington Blue Rocks)
• Peninsula Senators(1963, became the Peninsula Grays)
• Peninsula White Sox(1986–1987, became the Virginia Generals)
• Potomac Cannons(1999–2004, became the Potomac Nationals)
• Potomac Nationals(2005–2019, became the Fredericksburg Nationals)
• Prince William Cannons(1990–1998, became the Potomac Cannons)
• Prince William Pirates(1984–1986, became the Prince William Yankees)
• Prince William Yankees(1987–1989, became the Prince William Cannons)
• Raleigh Capitals(1957–1962, became the Raleigh Mets)
• Raleigh Capitals(1945–1953, folded)
• Raleigh Cardinals(1964–1965, became the Raleigh Pirates)
• Raleigh Mets(1963, became the Raleigh Cardinals)
• Raleigh Pirates(1966–1967, 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(1970–1971, folded)
• Red Springs Twins(1969, folded)
• Reidsville Luckies(1948–1954, became the Reidsville Phillies)
• Reidsville Phillies(1955, folded)
• Rocky Mount Leafs(1962–1963, became the Rocky Mount Senators)
• Rocky Mount Leafs(1965–1972, became the Rocky Mount Phillies)
• Rocky Mount Phillies(1973–1975, folded)
• Rocky Mount Pines(1980, became the Hagerstown Suns)
• Rocky Mount Senators(1964, became the Rocky Mount Leafs)
• Salem Avalanche(1995–2008, became the Salem Red Sox)
• Salem Buccaneers(1987–1994, became the Salem Avalanche)
• Salem Pirates(1972–1979, became the Salem Redbirds)
• Salem Rebels(1968–1971, became the Salem Pirates)
• Salem Red Sox(2009–present)
• Salem Redbirds(1980–1986, became the Salem Buccaneers)
• Tidewater Tides(1963–1968, moved to theInternational League)
• Virginia Generals(1988, became the Peninsula Pilots)
• Wilmington Blue Rocks(1993–2020, moved toHigh-A East)
• Wilson Pennants(1973, folded)
• Wilson Tobs(1956–1968, folded)
• Winston-Salem Cardinals(1945–1953, became the Winston-Salem Twins)
• Winston-Salem Dash(2009–2020, moved to High-A East)
• Winston-Salem Red Birds(1957–1960, became the Winston-Salem Red Sox)
• Winston-Salem Red Sox(1961–1983, became the Winston-Salem Spirits)
• Winston-Salem Spirits(1984–1994, became the Winston-Salem Warthogs)
• Winston-Salem Twins(1954–1956, became the Winston-Salem Red Birds)
• Winston-Salem Warthogs(1995–2008, became the Winston-Salem Dash)

League timeline (1945–present)

Current teamEarlier team

External links

• Official website