# 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.
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 |
| North | Lynchburg Mets | Lynchburg, Virginia | New York Mets | City Stadium |
| North | Prince William Pirates | Woodbridge, Virginia | Pittsburgh Pirates | Prince William County Stadium |
| North | Salem Redbirds | Salem, Virginia | Texas Rangers | Salem Municipal Field |
| South | Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Durham Athletic Park |
| South | Kinston Eagles | Kinston, North Carolina | None | Grainger Stadium |
| South | Peninsula White Sox | Hampton, Virginia | Chicago White Sox | War Memorial Stadium |
| South | Winston-Salem Spirits | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Ernie Shore Field |

## 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 | Finals | 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 |