List of Carolina League champions

The Carolina League of Minor League Baseball is a Single-A baseball league in the United States that began play in 1945. A league champion was determined at the end of each season by either postseason playoffs or being declared champion by the league office. As of 2019, the first-half and second-half winners in each division (Northern and Southern) competed in a best-of-five division series. Then, the Northern and Southern division winners played a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.[1]

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] and the league ceased operations before the 2021 season in conjunction with Major League Baseball's (MLB) reorganization of Minor League Baseball.[3] In place of the Carolina League, MLB created the Low-A East, a 12-team circuit divided into three divisions.[4] Prior to the 2022 season, MLB renamed the Low-A Easr as the Carolina League, and it carried on the history of the league prior to reorganization.[5] In 2021, the Low-A East held a best-of-five series between the top two teams in the league, regardless of division standings, to determine a league champion.[6] As of 2022, the winners of each division from both the first and second halves of the season meet in a best-of-three division series, with the winners of the two division series meeting in a best-of-three championship series.[7]

League champions

Score and finalist information is only presented when postseason play occurred. The lack of this information indicates a declared league champion.
Year Champion Score Finalist
1945 Danville Leafs 4–1 Raleigh Capitals
1946 Raleigh Capitals 4–2 Durham Bulls
1947 Raleigh Capitals 4–2 Durham Bulls
1948 Martinsville Athletics 4–2 Burlington Bees
1949 Burlington Bees 4–3 Raleigh Capitals
1950 Winston-Salem Cardinals 4–1 Burlington Bees
1951 Winston-Salem Cardinals 4–1 Reidsville Luckies
1952 Reidsville Luckies 4–0 Durham Bulls
1953 Danville Leafs 4–2 Reidsville Luckies
1954 Fayetteville Highlanders 4–1 Burlington Pirates
1955 Danville Leafs 4–2 High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms
1956 Fayetteville Highlanders 4–2 Danville Leafs
1957 Durham Bulls 4–3 High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms
1958 Burlington Indians 2–1 Greensboro Yankees
1959 Wilson Tobs 4–0 Raleigh Capitals
1960 Greensboro Yankees 4–1 Burlington Indians
1961 Wilson Tobs — —
1962 Kinston Eagles 4–3 Durham Bulls
1963 Wilson Tobs 2–1 Greensboro Yankees
1964 Winston-Salem Red Sox 2–0 Tidewater Tides
1965 Tidewater Tides 2–0 Durham Bulls
1966 Rocky Mount Leafs 2–0 Winston-Salem Red Sox
1967 Durham Bulls 2–1 Tidewater Tides
1968 High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 2–0 Raleigh-Durham Mets
1969 Raleigh-Durham Phillies 2–1 Burlington Senators
1970 Winston-Salem Red Sox 2–0 Burlington Senators
1971 Peninsula Phillies 2–0 Kinston Eagles
1972 Salem Pirates 2–1 Burlington Rangers
1973 Salem Pirates 3–2 Lynchburg Twins
1974 Salem Pirates — —
1975 Rocky Mount Phillies — —
1976 Winston-Salem Red Sox — —
1977 Peninsula Pilots 3–2 Lynchburg Mets
1978 Lynchburg Mets 3–0 Peninsula Pilots
1979 Winston-Salem Red Sox — —
1980 Peninsula Pilots 3–1 Durham Bulls
1981 Hagerstown Suns 3–0 Peninsula Pilots
1982 Alexandria Dukes 3–0 Durham Bulls
1983 Lynchburg Mets 3–0 Winston-Salem Red Sox
1984 Lynchburg Mets 3–1 Durham Bulls
1985 Winston-Salem Spirits 3–1 Lynchburg Mets
1986 Winston-Salem Spirits 3–1 Hagerstown Suns
1987 Salem Buccaneers 3–1 Kinston Indians
1988 Kinston Indians 3–2 Lynchburg Red Sox
1989 Prince William Yankees 3–1 Durham Bulls
1990 Frederick Keys 3–2 Kinston Indians
1991 Kinston Indians 3–0 Lynchburg Red Sox
1992 Peninsula Pilots 3–2 Lynchburg Red Sox
1993 Winston-Salem Spirits 3–1 Wilmington Blue Rocks
1994 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3–0 Winston-Salem Spirits
1995 Kinston Indians 3–0 Wilmington Blue Rocks
1996 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3–1 Kinston Indians
1997 Lynchburg Hillcats 3–1 Kinston Indians
1998 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3–1 Winston-Salem Warthogs
1999
[a]		 Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Wilmington Blue Rocks		 2–2 —
2000 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3–0 Lynchburg Hillcats
2001 Salem Avalanche 3–2 Wilmington Blue Rocks
2002 Lynchburg Hillcats 3–1 Kinston Indians
2003 Winston-Salem Warthogs 3–0 Lynchburg Hillcats
2004 Kinston Indians 3–2 Wilmington Blue Rocks
2005 Frederick Keys 3–2 Kinston Indians
2006 Kinston Indians 3–0 Frederick Keys
2007 Frederick Keys 3–1 Salem Avalanche
2008 Potomac Nationals 3–1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans
2009 Lynchburg Hillcats 3–0 Salem Red Sox
2010 Potomac Nationals 3–1 Winston-Salem Dash
2011 Frederick Keys 3–1 Kinston Indians
2012 Lynchburg Hillcats 3–1 Winston-Salem Dash
2013 Salem Red Sox 3–0 Potomac Nationals
2014 Potomac Nationals 3–1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans
2015 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3–0 Wilmington Blue Rocks
2016 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3–1 Lynchburg Hillcats
2017
[b]		 Down East Wood Ducks
Lynchburg Hillcats		 — —
2018[c] Buies Creek Astros 1–0 Potomac Nationals
2019 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3–2 Fayetteville Woodpeckers
2020 None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)[2]
2021 Charleston RiverDogs[8] 3–2 Down East Wood Ducks
2022 Charleston RiverDogs[9] 2–0 Lynchburg Hillcats
2023 Charleston RiverDogs[10] 2–0 Down East Wood Ducks
2024 Fredericksburg Nationals[11] 2–1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Championship wins by team

Wins Runner-ups Team Championship Years Runner-up Years
11 6 Winston-Salem Dash/Cards/Red Sox/Pirates/Spirits/Warthogs 1950, 1951, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1993, 2003 1966, 1983, 1994, 1998, 2010, 2012
8 11 Lynchburg Red Sox/Twins/Mets/Hillcats 1978, 1983, 1984, 1997, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2017 1973, 1977, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2016, 2022
6 8 Kinston Eagles/Indians 1962, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, 2006 1971, 1987, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2011
5 2 Salem Pirates/Buccaneers/Avalanche/Red Sox 1972, 1974, 1987, 2001, 2013 2007, 2009
5 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2019 1993, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2015
4 2 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1999, 2000, 2015, 2016 2008, 2014
4 2 Prince William Yankees/Potomac Nationals 1989, 2008, 2010, 2014 2013, 2018
4 2 Peninsula Phillies/Pilots 1971, 1977, 1980, 1992 1978, 1981
4 1 Frederick Keys 1990, 2005, 2007, 2011 2006
3 1 Danville Leafs 1945, 1953, 1955 1956
3 0 Charleston RiverDogs 2021, 2022, 2023 —
3 0 Wilson Tobs 1959, 1961, 1963 —
2 9 Durham Bulls 1957, 1967 1946, 1947, 1952, 1962, 1965, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989
2 7 Burlington Rangers/Indians/Senators/Pirates/Bees 1949, 1958 1948, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1969, 1970, 1972
2 3 Raleigh Capitals 1946, 1947 1945, 1949, 1959
2 0 Rocky Mount Leafs/Phillies 1966, 1975 —
2 0 Fayetteville Highlanders 1954, 1956 —
1 2 High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 1968 1955, 1957
1 2 Tidewater Tides 1965 1964, 1967
1 2 Greensboro Yankees 1960 1958, 1963
1 2 Reidsville Luckies 1952 1951, 1953
1 1 Hagerstown Suns 1981 1986
1 1 Raleigh-Durham Phillies/Mets 1969 1968
1 0 Buies Creek Astros 2018 —
1 1 Down East Wood Ducks 2017 2021, 2023
1 0 Alexandria Dukes 1982 —
1 0 Martinsville Athletics 1948 —
1 0 Fredericksburg Nationals 2024 —
0 1 Fayetteville Woodpeckers — 2019
0 1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers — 2024

Notes

  • a Myrtle Beach and Wilmington were declared co-champions when the series was tied 2–2 and canceled because of the threat of Hurricane Floyd.[12]
  • b Down East and Lynchburg were declared co-champions as a result of the playoffs being called off because of the threat of Hurricane Irma.[13]
  • c The best-of-five championship series was shortened to a one-game final due to the threat of Hurricane Florence.[14]

References

General
  • "League Champions". Carolina League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
Specific
  1. ^ "Playoff Procedures". Carolina League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2021). "Minor League Baseball Overhaul Unveiled". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Heneghan, Kelsie (July 1, 2021). "Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "MiLB Playoff Procedures". MiLB.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  8. ^ Trujillo, Nick (September 26, 2021). "Charleston Wins the Low-A East Championship". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Terranova, Rob (September 21, 2022). "RiverDogs Sweep to Second Straight Championship". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Mast, Allison (September 20, 2023). "RiverDogs Roll to Third straight Carolina Crown". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  11. ^ Martinez-Lopez, Melanie (September 19, 2024). "FredNats Have to Play Two to Win First Crown Since Move". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Young, Ryan (April 3, 2013). "Pelicans Through the Years". The Sun News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Carolina League cancels Mills Cup Finals". Carolina League. Minor League Baseball. September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  14. ^ Dykstra, Sam (September 11, 2018). "Mills Cup Finals to be one-game series". Carolina League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 11, 2018.