Minor League Baseball league
This article is about the baseball league founded in 1945. For the independent baseball league that operated between 1936 and 1938, see
Carolina League (1936–1938) .
TheCarolina League is aMinor League Baseball league which has operated along theAtlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence,[ 1] : 23 Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion toSingle-A followingMajor League Baseball 's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as theLow-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just asWorld War II was ending, and consisted of eight teams, six fromNorth Carolina and two from southernVirginia . This later grew to as many as 12 teams at times.
The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting atDurham , North Carolina. It was a successor to theClass D Bi-State League that 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 withDanville andMartinsville from Virginia.[ 2]
A few of the many Carolina League players who have gone on to star in the Major Leagues include Baseball Hall of Famers like:Johnny Bench (Peninsula, 1966),Wade Boggs (Winston-Salem, 1977),Rod Carew (Wilson, 1966),Chipper Jones (Durham, 1992),Willie McCovey (Danville, 1956),Joe Morgan (Durham, 1963),Dave Parker (Salem, 1972),Tony Pérez (Rocky Mount, 1962), andCarl Yastrzemski (Raleigh, 1959). Other notable future Major League players who honed their skills in the Carolina League includeBarry Bonds (Prince William, 1985),Dock Ellis (Kinston, 1965),Dwight Evans (Winston-Salem, 1971),Dwight Gooden (Lynchburg, 1983),Zack Greinke (Wilmington, 2003),Andruw Jones (Durham, 1996),Andy Pettitte (Prince William, 1993),Jorge Posada (Prince William, 1993),Darryl Strawberry (Lynchburg, 1981), andBernie Williams (Prince William, 1988).[ 3]
Director and screenwriterRon Shelton 's 1988 filmBull Durham Kevin Costner ,Tim Robbins , andSusan Sarandon , depicted a fictionalized account of theDurham Bulls , at that time a Carolina League team (they have since become a Triple-A 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.[ 4]
The Carolina League added twoexpansion teams for the 2017 season to fill two vacant spots at theClass A-Advanced level previously occupied by theCalifornia League 'sBakersfield Blaze andHigh Desert Mavericks , which ceased operations at the end of the 2016 season. These additional teams were theDown East Wood Ducks inKinston, North Carolina , and theBuies Creek Astros inBuies Creek, North Carolina .[ 5] Fayetteville, North Carolina as theFayetteville Woodpeckers . After the 2019 season, the Potomac Nationals relocated withinNorthern Virginia toFredericksburg , rebranding themselves as theFredericksburg Nationals .
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] Frederick Keys were demoted out of professional baseball into thehybrid amateur/professional MLB Draft League , theWilmington Blue Rocks andWinston-Salem Dash were 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.[ 9]
In July 2024, MiLB announced that theHickory Crawdads will join the Carolina League in 2025, replacing theDown East Wood Ducks .[ 10]
Division Team MLB affiliation City Stadium Capacity North Delmarva Shorebirds Baltimore Orioles Salisbury, Maryland Arthur W. Perdue Stadium 5,200 Fayetteville Woodpeckers Houston Astros Fayetteville, North Carolina Segra Stadium 4,786 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 RidgeYaks Boston Red Sox Salem, Virginia Salem Memorial Ballpark 6,300 Wilson Warbirds Milwaukee Brewers Wilson, North Carolina Wilson Stadium 4,500 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 Hickory Crawdads Texas Rangers Hickory, North Carolina L. P. Frans Stadium 5,062 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
120km
12
Pelicans
11
Cannon Ballers
10
Crawdads
9
Fireflies
8
RiverDogs
7
GreenJackets
6
Warbirds
5
RidgeYaks
4
Hillcats
3
Nationals
2
Woodpeckers
1
Shorebirds
Current team locations: North Division
South Division
1
Delmarva Shorebirds
2
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
3
Fredericksburg Nationals
4
Lynchburg Hillcats
5
Salem RidgeYaks
6
Wilson Warbirds
7
Augusta GreenJackets
8
Charleston RiverDogs
9
Columbia Fireflies
10
Hickory Crawdads
11
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
12
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
[ edit ] All teams that have competed in the Carolina League since its founding in 1945:[ 11]
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 (2012–2025, became the Wilson Warbirds)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 (2017–2024, moved to Spartanburg & became the Hub City Spartanburgers)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 (2009–2025, became the Salem RidgeYaks)Salem Redbirds (1980–1986, became the Salem Buccaneers)Salem RidgeYaks (2026–present)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)Wilson Warbirds (2026–present)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)[ edit ] Current team Earlier team
^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.).Baseball America .ISBN 978-1932391176 ^ Barrier, Smith (November 2, 1944). "Wilson Heads Carolina Loop: Seven Franchises Awarded to N.C. Cities, Another to Danville, Va".The Sporting News . ^ Terranova, Rob (April 4, 2022)."Then and now: Carolina League" .MiLB.com . ^ "Ron Shelton Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics" .Baseball-Reference.com .^ Glaser, Kyle (22 August 2016)."Carolina League To Add Two Franchises In 2017" .BaseballAmerica.com . Retrieved16 September 2018 . ^ "A Message From Pat O'Conner" .Minor League Baseball . March 13, 2020. RetrievedMay 5, 2020 .^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved" .Minor League Baseball . June 30, 2020. RetrievedJuly 1, 2020 .^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021)."MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues" .Major League Baseball . RetrievedFebruary 12, 2021 . ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022" .Minor League Baseball . March 16, 2022. RetrievedMarch 16, 2022 .^ "South Atlantic, Carolina Leagues to realign in 2025" .Minor League Baseball (Press release). July 23, 2024. RetrievedJuly 25, 2024 .^ "2013 Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book" . p. 4.
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2025 Carolina League season
