1968 Carolina League season

1968 Carolina League season Carolina League Baseball April 14 – September 2 140 12 Regular season Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms Playoffs High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms Raleigh-Durham Mets List of Carolina League seasons CL 1967 Carolina League season 1967 1969 Carolina League season 1969 The 1968 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 14 and September 2. Twelve teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top four teams in each division qualifying for the post-season. The High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh-Durham Mets in the final round of the playoffs. Team changes The Asheville Tourists leave the league and rejoin the Southern League. The Durham Bulls merge with the Raleigh Pirates and are renamed the Raleigh-Durham Mets. The club is affiliated with the New York Mets. The High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms join the league from the Western Carolinas League. The Salem Rebels join the league from the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Greensboro Yankees ended their affiliation with the New York Yankees and began a new affiliation with the Houston Astros. The club was renamed the Greensboro Patriots. The Kinston Eagles ended their affiliation with the Atlanta Braves and began a new affiliation with the New York Yankees. Teams 1968 Carolina League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium East Kinston Eagles Kinston, North Carolina New York Yankees Grainger Stadium Peninsula Grays Hampton, Virginia Oakland Athletics War Memorial Stadium Raleigh-Durham Mets Raleigh, North Carolina New York Mets Devereaux Meadow Rocky Mount Leafs Rocky Mount, North Carolina Detroit Tigers Municipal Stadium Tidewater Tides Norfolk, Virginia Philadelphia Phillies Frank D. Lawrence Stadium Wilson Tobs Wilson, North Carolina Minnesota Twins Fleming Stadium West Burlington Senators Burlington, North Carolina Washington Senators Burlington Athletic Stadium Greensboro Patriots Greensboro, North Carolina Houston Astros World War Memorial Stadium High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms Thomasville, North Carolina None Finch Field Lynchburg White Sox Lynchburg, Virginia Chicago White Sox City Stadium Salem Rebels Salem, Virginia Pittsburgh Pirates Salem Municipal Field Winston-Salem Red Sox Winston-Salem, North Carolina Boston Red Sox Ernie Shore Field Map of teams left 10px East division 10px West division 535 475 280 0 0 North Carolina 900 North Carolina 35.27 -77.57 Blue pog.svg 80 top Kinston #ffe North Carolina 37.01 -76.39 Blue pog.svg 80 top Peninsula #ffe North Carolina 35.79 -78.64 Blue pog.svg 80 top Raleigh-Durham #ffe North Carolina 35.97 -77.80 Blue pog.svg 80 top Rocky Mount #ffe North Carolina 36.85 -76.29 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Tidewater #ffe North Carolina 35.72 -77.93 Blue pog.svg 80 top Wilson #ffe North Carolina 36.09 -79.41 Red pog.svg 80 top Burlington #ffe North Carolina 36.08 -79.78 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Greensboro #ffe North Carolina 35.92 -80.06 Red pog.svg 80 bottom High Point-Thomasville #ffe North Carolina 37.39 -79.17 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Lynchburg #ffe North Carolina 37.29 -80.05 Red pog.svg 80 top Salem #ffe North Carolina 36.13 -80.25 Red pog.svg 80 top Winston-Salem #ffe Regular season Summary The Salem Rebels finished with the best record in the league in their first season. Standings 1968 CL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed December 7, 2024 East division Team Win Loss % GB Raleigh-Durham Mets 83 56 83 56 – Tidewater Tides 80 60 80 60 3.5 Peninsula Grays 75 65 75 65 8.5 Wilson Tobs 71 68 71 68 12 Rocky Mount Leafs 70 70 70 70 13.5 Kinston Eagles 62 75 62 75 20West division Salem Rebels 85 55 85 55 – High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 69 71 69 71 16 Lynchburg White Sox 68 72 68 72 17 Greensboro Patriots 61 79 61 79 24 Winston-Salem Red Sox 56 81 56 81 27.5 Burlington Senators 56 84 56 84 29 League Leaders Batting leaders 1968 CL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 7, 2024 Stat Player Total AVG Carlos May, Lynchburg White Sox .330 H Johnny Jeter, Salem Rebels 156 R Lee Green, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 106 2B John Mason, Winston-Salem Red Sox 25 3B Dave Arrington, Salem Rebels 17 HR Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 49 RBI Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 122 SB Wilbert Hammond, Salem Rebels 39 Pitching leaders 1968 CL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 7, 2024 Stat Player Total W Jerry Cram, Wilson Tobs Charlie Hudson, Raleigh-Durham Mets Eddie Smith, Lynchburg White Sox 16 ERA Greg Conger, Peninsula Grays 1.76 CG Jerry Cram, Wilson Tobs Jerry Magness, Wilson Tobs Ed Phillips, Winston-Salem Red Sox Dick Such, Burlington Senators 14 SHO Charlie Hudson, Raleigh-Durham Mets 6 SO Al Fitzmorris, Lynchburg White Sox 214 IP Eddie Smith, Lynchburg White Sox 215.0 Playoffs The High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh-Durham Mets in two games. Playoff bracket Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals E1 Raleigh-Durham 1 E3 Peninsula 0 E2 Tidewater 0 E4 Wilson 1 W1 Salem 0 W3 Lynchburg 1 W2 High Point-Thomasville 1 W4 Greensboro 0 E1 Raleigh-Durham 2 E4 Wilson 1 W3 Lynchburg 0 W2 High Point-Thomasville 2 E1 Raleigh-Durham 0 W2 High Point-Thomasville 2 Awards Carolina League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms Manager of the Year Don Hoak, Salem Rebels See also 1968 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website Carolina League season Category:1968 in sports in North Carolina Category:1968 in sports in Virginia