# 1988 Carolina League season

The 1988 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 8 and August 31. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the winners of each half of the season competing in the playoffs.
The Kinston Indians won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Lynchburg Red Sox in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Lynchburg Mets ended their affiliation with the New York Mets and began a new affiliation with the Boston Red Sox. The club was renamed the Lynchburg Red Sox.
* The Peninsula White Sox ended their affiliation with the Chicago White Sox. The club was renamed the Virginia Generals.

## Teams

1988 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| North | Hagerstown Suns | Hagerstown, Maryland | Baltimore Orioles | Municipal Stadium |
| North | Lynchburg Red Sox | Lynchburg, Virginia | Boston Red Sox | City Stadium |
| North | Prince William Yankees | Woodbridge, Virginia | New York Yankees | Prince William County Stadium |
| North | Salem Buccaneers | Salem, Virginia | Pittsburgh Pirates | Salem Municipal Field |
| South | Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Durham Athletic Park |
| South | Kinston Indians | Kinston, North Carolina | Cleveland Indians | Grainger Stadium |
| South | Virginia Generals | Hampton, Virginia | None | War Memorial Stadium |
| South | Winston-Salem Spirits | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Ernie Shore Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Kinston Indians finished with the best record in the league for the first time in team history.
* The Hagerstown Suns failed to qualify for the post-season despite finishing with the best record in the North Division, as the team did not finish in first place in either half of the season.

### Standings

North division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Hagerstown Suns | 79 | 61 | .564 | – |
| Salem Buccaneers | 73 | 66 | .525 | 5.5 |
| Lynchburg Red Sox | 68 | 72 | .486 | 11 |
| Prince William Yankees | 55 | 84 | .396 | 23.5 |
| South division |||||
| Kinston Indians | 88 | 52 | .629 | – |
| Durham Bulls | 82 | 58 | .586 | 6 |
| Winston-Salem Spirits | 73 | 67 | .521 | 15 |
| Virginia Generals | 41 | 99 | .293 | 47 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Bernie Williams, Prince William Yankees | .335 |
| H | Scott Cooper, Lynchburg Red Sox Derrick May, Winston-Salem Spirits | 148 |
| R | Don Buford, Hagerstown Suns Jim Orsag, Lynchburg Red Sox Mickey Pina, Lynchburg Red Sox | 91 |
| 2B | Scott Cooper, Lynchburg Red Sox | 45 |
| 3B | Derrick May, Winston-Salem Spirits | 9 |
| HR | Mickey Pina, Lynchburg Red Sox | 21 |
| RBI | Mickey Pina, Lynchburg Red Sox | 108 |
| SB | Don Buford, Hagerstown Suns | 77 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Brian DuBois, Virginia / Hagerstown Phil Harrison, Winston-Salem Spirits Mike Sander, Hagerstown Suns | 14 |
| ERA | Kevin Bearse, Kinston Indians | 1.31 |
| CG | Stacey Burdick, Hagerstown Suns Brian DuBois, Virginia / Hagerstown Scott Kamieniecki, Prince William Yankees Bill Kazmierczak, Winston-Salem Spirits | 7 |
| SV | Kevin Bearse, Kinston Indians | 22 |
| SO | Phil Harrison, Winston-Salem Spirits | 169 |
| IP | Danny Weems, Durham Bulls | 191.1 |

## Playoffs

* The Kinston Indians won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Lynchburg Red Sox in five games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| N1 | Salem | 0 | | | |
| N2 | Lynchburg | 2 | | | |
| N2 | Lynchburg | 2 | N2 | Lynchburg | 2 |
| | | | S1 | Kinston | 3 |
| S1 | Kinston | bye | S1 | Kinston | 3 |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Mickey Pina, Lynchburg Red Sox |
| Pitcher of the Year | Kevin Bearse, Kinston Indians Kent Mercker, Durham Bulls |
| Manager of the Year | Dick Berardino, Lynchburg Red Sox |