1968 Carolina League season

1968 Carolina League season
League	Carolina League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 14 – September 2
Number of games	140
Number of teams	12
Regular season
Season MVP	Tony Solaita, High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms
Playoffs
League champions	High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms
Runners-up	Raleigh-Durham Mets

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	Kiwanis Field
	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Boston Red Sox	Ernie Shore Field

Map of teams

Kinston

Peninsula

Raleigh-Durham

Rocky Mount

Tidewater

Wilson

Burlington

Greensboro

High Point-Thomasville

Lynchburg

Salem

Winston-Salem

East division West division

Regular season

Summary

• The Salem Rebels finished with the best record in the league in their first season.

Standings

East division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Raleigh-Durham Mets	83	56	.597	–
Tidewater Tides	80	60	.571	3.5
Peninsula Grays	75	65	.536	8.5
Wilson Tobs	71	68	.511	12
Rocky Mount Leafs	70	70	.500	13.5
Kinston Eagles	62	75	.453	20
West division
Salem Rebels	85	55	.607	–
High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms	69	71	.493	16
Lynchburg White Sox	68	72	.486	17
Greensboro Patriots	61	79	.436	24
Winston-Salem Red Sox	56	81	.409	27.5
Burlington Senators	56	84	.400	29

League Leaders

Batting leaders

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

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

E1

Raleigh-Durham

2

E4

Wilson

1

E2

Tidewater

0

E4

Wilson

1

E1

Raleigh-Durham

0

W2

High Point-Thomasville

2

W1

Salem

0

W3

Lynchburg

1

W3

Lynchburg

0

W2

High Point-Thomasville

2

W2

High Point-Thomasville

1

W4

Greensboro

0

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

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website