1986 Carolina League season

The 1986 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 10 and August 31. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the winners of each half of the season competing in the playoffs.

1986 Carolina League season
League	Carolina League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 10 – August 31
Number of games	140
Number of teams	8
Regular season
Season MVP	Gregg Jefferies, Lynchburg Mets
Playoffs
League champions	Winston-Salem Spirits
Runners-up	Hagerstown Suns

The Winston-Salem Spirits won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Hagerstown Suns in the final round of the playoffs.

Team changes

• The Kinston Blue Jays ended their affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays. The club was renamed the Kinston Eagles.
• The Peninsula Pilots ended their affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies and began a new affiliation with the Chicago White Sox. The club was renamed the Peninsula White Sox.

Teams

1986 Carolina League
Division	Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
North	Hagerstown Suns	Hagerstown, Maryland	Baltimore Orioles	Municipal Stadium
	Lynchburg Mets	Lynchburg, Virginia	New York Mets	City Stadium
	Prince William Pirates	Woodbridge, Virginia	Pittsburgh Pirates	Prince William County Stadium
	Salem Redbirds	Salem, Virginia	Texas Rangers	Salem Municipal Field
South	Durham Bulls	Durham, North Carolina	Atlanta Braves	Durham Athletic Park
	Kinston Eagles	Kinston, North Carolina	None	Grainger Stadium
	Peninsula White Sox	Hampton, Virginia	Chicago White Sox	War Memorial Stadium
	Winston-Salem Spirits	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Chicago Cubs	Ernie Shore Field

Map of teams

Hagerstown

Lynchburg

Prince William

Salem

Durham

Kinston

Peninsula

Winston-Salem

North division South division

Regular season

Summary

• The Hagerstown Suns finished with the best record in the league for the first time in team history.

Standings

North division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Hagerstown Suns	91	48	.655	–
Lynchburg Mets	75	65	.536	16.5
Prince William Pirates	67	72	.482	24
Salem Redbirds	45	93	.326	45.5
South division
Winston-Salem Spirits	82	56	.594	–
Durham Bulls	72	68	.514	11
Peninsula White Sox	60	74	.448	20
Kinston Eagles	60	76	.441	21

League Leaders

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Gregg Jefferies, Lynchburg Mets	.354
H	Doug Dascenzo, Winston-Salem Spirits	178
R	Marcus Lawton, Lynchburg Mets	118
2B	Bob Bafia, Winston-Salem Spirits	36
3B	Marcus Lawton, Lynchburg Mets	16
HR	Ron Gant, Durham Bulls	26
RBI	Craig Worthington, Hagerstown Suns	105
SB	Pete Stanicek, Hagerstown Suns	77

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Marty Reed, Kinston Eagles	16
ERA	Jeff Ballard, Hagerstown Suns	1.85
CG	Marty Reed, Kinston Eagles	9
SV	Laddie Renfroe, Winston-Salem Spirits	21
SO	Chris Ritter, Prince William Pirates	149
IP	Marty Reed, Kinston Eagles	196.2

Playoffs

• The Winston-Salem Spirits won their eighth Carolina League championship, defeating the Hagerstown Suns in four games.

Playoff bracket

	Finals
	N1	Hagerstown	1
	S1	Winston-Salem	3

Awards

Carolina League awards
Award name	Recipient
Most Valuable Player	Gregg Jefferies, Lynchburg Mets
Pitcher of the Year	Dave Pavlas, Winston-Salem Spirits
Manager of the Year	Jim Essian, Winston-Salem Spirits

See also

• 1986 Major League Baseball season

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website