# 1985 Carolina League season

The 1985 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 11 and August 31. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the winners of each half of the season competing in the playoffs.
The Winston-Salem Spirits won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Lynchburg Mets in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Winston-Salem Spirits ended their affiliation with the Boston Red Sox and begin a new affiliation with the Chicago Cubs.

## Teams

1985 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Hagerstown Suns | Hagerstown, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Municipal Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Mets | Lynchburg, Virginia | New York Mets | City Stadium |
| North | Prince William Pirates | Woodbridge, Virginia | Pittsburgh Pirates | Davis Ford Park |
| North | Salem Redbirds | Salem, Virginia | Texas Rangers | Salem Municipal Field |
| South | Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Durham Athletic Park |
| South | Kinston Blue Jays | Kinston, North Carolina | Toronto Blue Jays | Grainger Stadium |
| South | Peninsula Pilots | Hampton, Virginia | Philadelphia Phillies | War Memorial Stadium |
| South | Winston-Salem Spirits | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Ernie Shore Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Lynchburg Mets finished with the best record in the league for the third consecutive season.
* Despite finishing with the best record in the South Division, the Peninsula Pilots failed to qualify for the post-season as they did not have the best record in the division in either half of the season.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Lynchburg Mets | 95 | 45 | .679 | – |
| Salem Redbirds | 72 | 65 | .526 | 21.5 |
| Hagerstown Suns | 65 | 72 | .474 | 28.5 |
| Prince William Pirates | 65 | 74 | .468 | 29.5 |
| South division |||||
| Peninsula Pilots | 67 | 68 | .496 | – |
| Durham Bulls | 66 | 74 | .471 | 3.5 |
| Kinston Blue Jays | 64 | 73 | .467 | 4 |
| Winston-Salem Spirits | 58 | 81 | .417 | 11 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Dave Martinez, Winston-Salem Spirits | .342 |
| H | Shawn Abner, Lynchburg Mets | 163 |
| R | Kevin Bootay, Salem Redbirds Jose Leiva, Peninsula Pilots | 73 |
| 2B | Shawn Abner, Lynchburg Mets | 30 |
| 3B | Shawn Abner, Lynchburg Mets | 11 |
| HR | Jim Dickerson, Winston-Salem Spirits | 28 |
| RBI | Shawn Abner, Lynchburg Mets | 89 |
| SB | Eric Yelding, Kinston Blue Jays | 62 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Kyle Hartshorn, Lynchburg Mets | 17 |
| ERA | Kyle Hartshorn, Lynchburg Mets | 1.69 |
| CG | Carl Hamilton, Winston-Salem Spirits | 11 |
| SV | Todd Frohwirth, Peninsula Pilots | 18 |
| SO | Eric Bell, Hagerstown Suns | 162 |
| IP | Rick Knapp, Salem Redbirds | 180.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Winston-Salem Spirits won their seventh Carolina League championship, defeating the Lynchburg Mets in four games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Lynchburg | bye | | | |
| | | | N1 | Lynchburg | 1 |
| | | | S2 | Winston-Salem | 3 |
| S1 | Kinston | 0 | S2 | Winston-Salem | 3 |
| S2 | Winston-Salem | 2 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Shawn Abner, Lynchburg Mets |
| Pitcher of the Year | Kyle Hartshorn, Lynchburg Mets |
| Manager of the Year | Grady Little, Kinston Blue Jays |