# 1968 Carolina League season

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 |
| East | Peninsula Grays | Hampton, Virginia | Oakland Athletics | War Memorial Stadium |
| East | Raleigh-Durham Mets | Raleigh, North Carolina | New York Mets | Devereaux Meadow |
| East | Rocky Mount Leafs | Rocky Mount, North Carolina | Detroit Tigers | Municipal Stadium |
| East | Tidewater Tides | Norfolk, Virginia | Philadelphia Phillies | Frank D. Lawrence Stadium |
| East | Wilson Tobs | Wilson, North Carolina | Minnesota Twins | Fleming Stadium |
| West | Burlington Senators | Burlington, North Carolina | Washington Senators | Burlington Athletic Stadium |
| West | Greensboro Patriots | Greensboro, North Carolina | Houston Astros | World War Memorial Stadium |
| West | High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms | Thomasville, North Carolina | None | Finch Field |
| West | Lynchburg White Sox | Lynchburg, Virginia | Chicago White Sox | City Stadium |
| West | Salem Rebels | Salem, Virginia | Pittsburgh Pirates | Salem Municipal Field |
| West | Winston-Salem Red Sox | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Boston Red Sox | Ernie Shore Field |

## 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 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| E1 | Raleigh-Durham | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Peninsula | 0 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Peninsula | 0 | E1 | Raleigh-Durham | 2 | | | |
| | | | E4 | Wilson | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Tidewater | 0 | E4 | Wilson | 1 | | | |
| E4 | Wilson | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Wilson | 1 | | | | E1 | Raleigh-Durham | 0 |
| | | | | | | W2 | High Point-Thomasville | 2 |
| W1 | Salem | 0 | | | | | | | W2 | High Point-Thomasville | 2 |
| W3 | Lynchburg | 1 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Lynchburg | 1 | W3 | Lynchburg | 0 | | | |
| | | | W2 | High Point-Thomasville | 2 | | | |
| W2 | High Point-Thomasville | 1 | W2 | High Point-Thomasville | 2 | | | |
| 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 |