1988 Southern League season

1988 Southern League season Southern League Baseball April 8 – August 31 144 10 Regular season Greenville Braves Matt Winters, Memphis Chicks Playoffs Chattanooga Lookouts Greenville Braves List of Southern League seasons SL 1987 Southern League season 1987 1989 Southern League season 1989 The 1988 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 8 and August 31. Ten teams played a 144-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season. The Chattanooga Lookouts won the Southern League championship, as they defeated the Greenville Braves in the playoffs. Team changes The Charlotte Orioles are renamed to the Charlotte Knights. The club remained affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. The Chattanooga Lookouts ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners and began a new affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds. Teams 1988 Southern League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium East Charlotte Knights Charlotte, North Carolina Baltimore Orioles Knights Park Columbus Astros Columbus, Georgia Houston Astros Golden Park Greenville Braves Greenville, South Carolina Atlanta Braves Greenville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville Expos Jacksonville, Florida Montreal Expos Wolfson Park Orlando Twins Orlando, Florida Minnesota Twins Tinker Field West Birmingham Barons Birmingham, Alabama Chicago White Sox Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Chattanooga Lookouts Chattanooga, Tennessee Cincinnati Reds Engel Stadium Huntsville Stars Huntsville, Alabama Oakland Athletics Joe W. Davis Stadium Knoxville Blue Jays Knoxville, Tennessee Toronto Blue Jays Bill Meyer Stadium Memphis Chicks Memphis, Tennessee Kansas City Royals Tim McCarver Stadium Map of teams left 10px East Division 10px West Division 1015 425 370 190 650 USA 2000 USA 35.20 -80.86 Blue pog.svg 80 top Charlotte #ffe USA 32.45 -84.99 Blue pog.svg 80 top Columbus #ffe USA 34.78 -82.35 Blue pog.svg 80 top Greenville #ffe USA 30.33 -81.64 Blue pog.svg 80 top Jackson-ville #ffe USA 28.54 -81.40 Blue pog.svg 80 top Orlando #ffe USA 33.34 -86.85 Red pog.svg 80 top Birming-ham #ffe USA 35.05 -85.29 Red pog.svg 80 top Chattan-ooga #ffe USA 34.70 -86.59 Red pog.svg 80 top Huntsville #ffe USA 35.98 -83.91 Red pog.svg 80 top Knoxville #ffe USA 35.12 -89.98 Red pog.svg 80 top Memphis #ffe Regular season Summary The Greenville Braves finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1984. Standings 1988 SOUL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed March 8, 2025 East Division Team Win Loss % GB Greenville Braves 87 57 87 57 – Jacksonville Expos 69 73 69 73 17 Columbus Astros 69 74 69 74 17.5 Charlotte Knights 69 75 69 75 18 Orlando Twins 66 75 66 75 19.5West Division Chattanooga Lookouts 81 62 81 62 – Memphis Chicks 79 64 79 64 2 Knoxville Blue Jays 75 69 75 69 6.5 Birmingham Barons 62 82 62 82 19.5 Huntsville Stars 59 85 59 85 22.5 League Leaders Batting leaders 1988 SL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 8, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Butch Davis, Charlotte Knights .301 H Mark Lemke, Greenville Braves 153 R Rafael Skeete, Charlotte Knights 89 2B Kevin Burrell, Memphis Chicks 32 3B Carlo Colombio, Columbus Astros Jerry Holtz, Charlotte Knights Barry Jones, Greenville Braves Dennis Hood, Greenville Braves 8 HR Matt Winters, Memphis Chicks 25 RBI Matt Winters, Memphis Chicks 91 SB Jeff Huson, Jacksonville Expos 56 Pitching leaders 1988 SL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 8, 2025 Stat Player Total W Chris Hammond, Chattanooga Lookouts 16 ERA Mark Gardner, Jacksonville Expos 1.60 CG Gene Harris, Jacksonville Expos 7 SHO Mark Clemons, Jacksonville Expos 3 SV Germán González, Orlando Twins 31 IP Steve Cummings, Knoxville Blue Jays 212.2 SO Alex Sanchez, Knoxville Blue Jays 166 Playoffs The Chattanooga Lookouts won their first Southern League championship, defeating the Greenville Braves in four games. Playoff bracket Division finals Finals E1 Greenville 3 E2 Jacksonville 2 W1 Chattanooga 3 W2 Memphis 1 E1 Greenville 1 W1 Chattanooga 3 Awards Southern League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Matt Winters, Memphis Chicks Pitcher of the Year Germán González, Orlando Twins Manager of the Year Buddy Bailey, Greenville Braves See also 1988 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website Southern League season Category:1988 in sports in Alabama Category:1988 in sports in Florida Category:1988 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:1988 in sports in North Carolina Category:1988 in sports in South Carolina Category:1988 in sports in Tennessee