# 1949 Carolina League season

The 1949 Carolina League was a Class B baseball season played between April 20 and September 11. Eight teams played a 146-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Burlington Bees won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in the final round of the playoffs.

## League changes

* The Carolina League was reclassified from Class C to Class B beginning in the 1949 season.

## Teams

1949 Carolina League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Burlington Bees | Burlington, North Carolina | None | Elon College Park |
| Danville Leafs | Danville, Virginia | None | League Park |
| Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Detroit Tigers | Durham Athletic Park |
| Greensboro Patriots | Greensboro, North Carolina | None | World War Memorial Stadium |
| Martinsville Athletics | Martinsville, Virginia | Philadelphia Athletics | Doug English Field |
| Raleigh Capitals | Raleigh, North Carolina | None | Devereaux Meadow |
| Reidsville Luckies | Reidsville, North Carolina | None | Kiker Stadium |
| Winston-Salem Cardinals | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | St. Louis Cardinals | South Side Park |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Danville Leafs finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time since 1945.
* The regular season schedule was changed from 142-games to 146-games.
* Muscle Shoals of the Reidsville Luckies set a league record with 55 home runs.

### Standings

Carolina League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Danville Leafs | 86 | 57 | .601 | – |
| Winston-Salem Cardinals | 84 | 61 | .579 | 3 |
| Raleigh Capitals | 76 | 68 | .528 | 10.5 |
| Burlington Bees | 72 | 72 | .500 | 14.5 |
| Greensboro Patriots | 72 | 73 | .497 | 15 |
| Durham Bulls | 70 | 72 | .493 | 15.5 |
| Reidsville Luckies | 63 | 80 | .441 | 23 |
| Martinsville Athletics | 52 | 92 | .361 | 34.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | William Brown, Danville Leafs | .361 |
| H | William Brown, Danville Leafs | 199 |
| R | Muscle Shoals, Reidsville Luckies | 131 |
| 2B | James Halkard, Greensboro Patriots | 49 |
| 3B | Thomas Martin, Raleigh Capitals | 15 |
| HR | Muscle Shoals, Reidsville Luckies | 55 |
| RBI | Muscle Shoals, Reidsville Luckies | 137 |
| SB | Pat Haggerty, Durham Bulls | 62 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Eddie Neville, Durham Bulls | 25 |
| ERA | Adam Twarkins, Danville Leafs | 2.07 |
| CG | Eddie Neville, Durham Bulls Adam Twarkins, Danville Leafs | 25 |
| SHO | Nick Lamastra, Greensboro Patriots | 11 |
| SO | Adam Twarkins, Danville Leafs | 240 |
| IP | Eddie Neville, Durham Bulls | 274.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Burlington Bees won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in seven games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Danville | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Burlington | 4 | | | |
| 4 | Burlington | 4 | 4 | Burlington | 4 |
| | | | 3 | Raleigh | 3 |
| 2 | Winston-Salem | 0 | 3 | Raleigh | 3 |
| 3 | Raleigh | 4 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Muscle Shoals, Reidsville Luckies |
| Manager of the Year | Ace Parker, Durham Bulls |