1980 Carolina League season

1980 Carolina League season Carolina League Baseball April 11 – August 31 140 8 Regular season Julio Franco, Peninsula Pilots Playoffs Peninsula Pilots Durham Bulls List of Carolina League seasons CL 1979 Carolina League season 1979 1981 Carolina League season 1981 The 1980 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 11 and August 31. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top team from each division competing for the league championship. The Peninsula Pilots won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Durham Bulls in the final round of the playoffs. League changes With two new teams joining the league, the teams were split up into two four-team divisions. The new divisions are the North Division and the South Division. Team changes The Durham Bulls rejoin the league as an expansion team. They began an affiliation with the Atlanta Braves. The Rocky Mount Pines join the league as an expansion team. The Alexandria Mariners ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners. The team was renamed the Alexandria Dukes. Teams 1980 Carolina League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium North Durham Bulls Durham, North Carolina Atlanta Braves Durham Athletic Park Kinston Eagles Kinston, North Carolina Toronto Blue Jays Grainger Stadium Rocky Mount Pines Rocky Mount, North Carolina None Municipal Stadium Winston-Salem Red Sox Winston-Salem, North Carolina Boston Red Sox Ernie Shore Field South Alexandria Dukes Alexandria, Virginia None Municipal Stadium at Four Mile Run Lynchburg Mets Lynchburg, Virginia New York Mets City Stadium Peninsula Pilots Hampton, Virginia Philadelphia Phillies War Memorial Stadium Salem Pirates Salem, Virginia Pittsburgh Pirates Salem Municipal Field Map of teams left 10px North division 10px South division 1000 425 330 190 710 USA 2800 USA 36.00 -78.90 Blue pog.svg 80 top Durham #ffe USA 35.27 -77.57 Blue pog.svg 80 top Kinston #ffe USA 35.97 -77.80 Blue pog.svg 80 top Rocky Mount #ffe USA 36.13 -80.25 Blue pog.svg 80 top Winston-Salem #ffe USA 38.82 -77.05 Red pog.svg 80 top Alexandria #ffe USA 37.39 -79.17 Red pog.svg 80 top Lynchburg #ffe USA 37.01 -76.39 Red pog.svg 80 top Peninsula #ffe USA 37.29 -80.05 Red pog.svg 80 top Salem #ffe Regular season Summary The Peninsula Pilots finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 1978. The Rocky Mount Pines set a league record for losses in a season (114) and lowest winning percentage (.174) Playoff berths are based on the winner of each half of the season in each division. Standings 1980 CL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed December 12, 2024 North division Team Win Loss % GB Durham Bulls 84 56 84 56 – Winston-Salem Red Sox 76 64 76 64 8 Kinston Eagles 69 69 69 69 14 Rocky Mount Pines 24 114 24 114 59South division Peninsula Pilots 100 40 100 40 – Salem Pirates 79 60 79 60 20.5 Lynchburg Mets 71 68 71 68 28.5 Alexandria Dukes 54 86 54 86 46 League Leaders Batting leaders 1980 CL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 12, 2024 Stat Player Total AVG Wil Culmer, Peninsula Pilots .370 H Wil Culmer, Peninsula Pilots 184 R Wil Culmer, Peninsula Pilots 112 2B John Csyfalvay, Lynchburg Mets 30 3B Bienvenido DeLaRosa, Salem Pirates 15 HR Craig Brooks, Winston-Salem Red Sox 24 RBI Julio Franco, Peninsula Pilots 99 SB Albert Hall, Durham Bulls 100 Pitching leaders 1980 CL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 11, 2024 Stat Player Total W Roy Smith, Peninsula Pilots 17 ERA James Wright, Peninsula Pilots 1.85 CG Tim Lewis, Alexandria Dukes 10 SV Martin Rivas, Winston-Salem Red Sox 21 SO Don Carman, Peninsula Pilots 141 IP Jay Fredlund, Winston-Salem Red Sox 211.0 Playoffs The Peninsula Pilots won their third Carolina League championship, defeating the Durham Bulls in four games. Playoff bracket Finals N1 Durham 1 S1 Peninsula 3 Awards Carolina League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Julio Franco, Peninsula Pilots Pitcher of the Year Roy Smith, Peninsula Pilots Manager of the Year Johnny Lipon, Peninsula Pilots See also 1980 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website Carolina League season Category:1980 in sports in North Carolina Category:1980 in sports in Virginia