# 1948 Carolina League season

The 1948 Carolina League was a Class C baseball season played between April 20 and September 7. Eight teams played a 142-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Martinsville Athletics won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Burlington Bees in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets left the league and joined the Blue Ridge League.
* The Reidsville Luckies join the league from the Tri-State League.
* The Danville Leafs ended their affilition with the New York Giants.
* The Durham Bulls begin an affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.

## Teams

1948 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 Raleigh Capitals finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time in franchise history.
* The Danville Leafs defeated the Winston-Salem Cardinals in a tie-breaking game to clinch the final playoff berth.

### Standings

Carolina League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Raleigh Capitals | 84 | 58 | .592 | – |
| Martinsville Athletics | 81 | 61 | .570 | 3 |
| Burlington Bees | 80 | 62 | .563 | 4 |
| Danville Leafs | 77 | 64 | .546 | 6.5 |
| Winston-Salem Cardinals | 76 | 65 | .539 | 7.5 |
| Durham Bulls | 63 | 79 | .444 | 21 |
| Reidsville Luckies | 57 | 85 | .401 | 27 |
| Greensboro Patriots | 49 | 93 | .345 | 35 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Eddie Morgan, Martinsville Athletics | .373 |
| H | Emo Showfety, Greensboro Patriots | 191 |
| R | George Wright, Martinsville Athletics | 145 |
| 2B | Crash Davis, Durham Bulls | 50 |
| 3B | James Lamb, Greensboro Patriots George Wright, Martinsville Athletics | 16 |
| HR | Russ Sullivan, Danville Leafs | 35 |
| RBI | Russ Sullivan, Danville Leafs | 129 |
| SB | Thomas Martin, Raleigh Capitals | 39 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lewis Hester, Reidsville Luckies | 25 |
| ERA | Alvin Henencheck, Raleigh Capitals | 2.24 |
| CG | Lewis Hester, Reidsville Luckies | 27 |
| SHO | Alvin Henencheck, Raleigh Capitals Oswald Kolwe, Durham Bulls Herbert Whitcomb, Martinsville Athletics | 4 |
| SO | Jack Frisinger, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 234 |
| IP | Lewis Hester, Reidsville Luckies | 301.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Martinsville Athletics won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Burlington Bees in six games.

### Playoff bracket

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

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Lewis Hester, Reidsville Luckies |
| Manager of the Year | Bud Bates, Burlington Bees |