# 1945 Carolina League season

The 1945 Carolina League was a Class C baseball season played between April 26 and September 9. Eight teams played a 138-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Danville Leafs won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in the final round of the playoffs.

## Formation of league

The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. It was a successor to the Class D Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, Greensboro, Leaksville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem (all from North Carolina), along with Danville and Martinsville from Virginia.

## Teams

1945 Carolina League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Burlington Bees | Burlington, North Carolina | None | Elon College Park |
| Danville Leafs | Danville, Virginia | New York Giants | League Park |
| Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Boston Red Sox | Durham Athletic Park |
| Greensboro Patriots | Greensboro, North Carolina | Philadelphia Phillies | World War Memorial Stadium |
| Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets | Leaksville, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | Tri-City Baseball Park |
| Martinsville Athletics | Martinsville, Virginia | Philadelphia Athletics | Doug English Field |
| Raleigh Capitals | Raleigh, North Carolina | Cincinnati Reds | Devereaux Meadow |
| 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.

### Standings

Carolina League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Danville Leafs | 94 | 44 | .681 | – |
| Raleigh Capitals | 78 | 60 | .565 | 16 |
| Martinsville Athletics | 69 | 67 | .507 | 24 |
| Burlington Bees | 67 | 70 | .489 | 26.5 |
| Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets | 66 | 70 | .485 | 27 |
| Winston-Salem Cardinals | 61 | 76 | .445 | 32.5 |
| Durham Bulls | 59 | 77 | .434 | 34 |
| Greensboro Patriots | 53 | 83 | .390 | 40 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Glenn Brundis, Danville Leafs | .366 |
| H | Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs Glenn Brundis, Danville Leafs | 193 |
| R | Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs | 139 |
| 2B | Jon Carenbauer, Danville Leafs | 45 |
| 3B | Jaime Almendro, Danville Leafs | 17 |
| HR | Mike Abrams, Martinsville Athletics August Granzig, Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets Jerry Gutt, Martinsville Athletics Tom Kirk, Martinsville Athletics | 12 |
| RBI | Jon Carenbauer, Danville Leafs | 121 |
| SB | Lewis King, Danville Leafs | 65 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Art Fowler, Danville Leafs | 23 |
| ERA | Charles Timm, Raleigh Capitals | 2.36 |
| CG | Art Fowler, Danville Leafs | 27 |
| SHO | Charles Timm, Raleigh Capitals | 4 |
| SO | Charles Gooding, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 230 |
| IP | Roy Pinyoun, Raleigh Capitals | 265.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Danville Leafs won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in five games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Danville | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Martinsville | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Martinsville | 2 | 1 | Danville | 4 |
| | | | 2 | Raleigh | 1 |
| 2 | Raleigh | 4 | 2 | Raleigh | 1 |
| 4 | Burlington | 3 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Manager of the Year | Herb Brett, Danville Leafs |