Carolina League
Class A-Advanced (1990–2020) | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 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 Carolina League is a
The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just as World War II was ending, and consisted of eight teams, six from North Carolina and two from southern Virginia. 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 at
A few of the many Carolina League players who have gone on to star in the Major Leagues are:
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 International League.[2]
The Carolina League added two
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.[4][5] 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.[6] In the realignment process, the Frederick Keys were demoted out of professional baseball, the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Winston-Salem Dash were shifted to the South 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.[7]
Current teams
Champions
Awards
All-time teams (1945–present)
All teams that have competed in the Carolina League since its founding in 1945:[8]
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League timeline (1945–present)
Current team Earlier team
Notes
References
- ^ Barrier, Smith (November 2, 1944). "Wilson Heads Carolina Loop: Seven Franchises Awarded to N.C. Cities, Another to Danville, Va". The Sporting News.
- ^ "Baseball Reference".
- ^ Glaser, Kyle. "Carolina League To Add Two Franchises In 2017". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "2013 Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book". p. 4.