# 1963 Carolina League season

The 1963 Carolina League was a Class A baseball season played between April 19 and September 7. Ten teams played a 144-game schedule, with the top two teams in each division qualifying for the post-season.
The Wilson Tobs won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Greensboro Yankees in the final round of the playoffs.

## League changes

* The Carolina League was reclassified from Class B to Class A beginning in the 1963 season.
* The league split into two five-team divisions, the East Division and the West Division.

## Team changes

* The Peninsula Senators joined the league as an expansion team. The club would be affiliated with the Washington Senators.
* The Tidewater Tides joined the league as an expansion team.
* The Raleigh Capitals ended their affiliation with the Washington Senators and began a new affiliation with the New York Mets. The club was renamed the Raleigh Mets.

## Teams

1963 Carolina League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| East | Kinston Eagles | Kinston, North Carolina | Pittsburgh Pirates | Grainger Stadium |
| East | Peninsula Senators | Hampton, Virginia | Washington Senators | War Memorial Stadium |
| East | Rocky Mount Leafs | Rocky Mount, North Carolina | Cincinnati Reds | Municipal Stadium |
| East | Tidewater Tides | Norfolk, Virginia | None | Frank D. Lawrence Stadium |
| East | Wilson Tobs | Wilson, North Carolina | Minnesota Twins | Fleming Stadium |
| West | Burlington Indians | Burlington, North Carolina | Cleveland Indians | Burlington Athletic Stadium |
| West | Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Houston Colt .45s | Durham Athletic Park |
| West | Greensboro Yankees | Greensboro, North Carolina | New York Yankees | World War Memorial Stadium |
| West | Raleigh Mets | Raleigh, North Carolina | New York Mets | Devereaux Meadow |
| West | Winston-Salem Red Sox | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Boston Red Sox | Ernie Shore Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Greensboro Yankees finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 1960.
* The regular season schedule was extended from 140-games to 144-games.

### Standings

East division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Kinston Eagles | 77 | 66 | .538 | – |
| Wilson Tobs | 77 | 67 | .535 | 0.5 |
| Rocky Mount Leafs | 72 | 72 | .500 | 5.5 |
| Tidewater Tides | 65 | 79 | .451 | 12.5 |
| Peninsula Senators | 58 | 86 | .403 | 19.5 |
| West division |||||
| Greensboro Yankees | 85 | 59 | .590 | – |
| Durham Bulls | 78 | 65 | .545 | 6.5 |
| Burlington Indians | 77 | 66 | .538 | 7.5 |
| Winston-Salem Red Sox | 67 | 76 | .469 | 17.5 |
| Raleigh Mets | 62 | 82 | .431 | 23 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Art López, Greensboro Yankees | .338 |
| H | Don Bosch, Kinston Eagles | 189 |
| R | Roy White, Greensboro Yankees | 117 |
| 2B | Ron Durham, Burlington Indians | 38 |
| 3B | Art López, Greensboro Yankees | 12 |
| HR | Walt Matthews, Durham Bulls | 30 |
| RBI | Jim Price, Kinston Eagles | 109 |
| SB | Johnny Parker, Burlington Indians | 41 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Chuck Kovach, Burlington Indians Jerry Merz, Rocky Mount Leafs | 17 |
| ERA | James Horsford, Greensboro Yankees | 1.41 |
| CG | Luis Tiant, Burlington Indians | 17 |
| SHO | Luis Tiant, Burlington Indians | 6 |
| SO | Luis Tiant, Burlington Indians | 207 |
| IP | Don Flynn, Rocky Mount Leafs | 211.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Wilson Tobs won their third Carolina League championship, defeating the Greensboro Yankees in three games.
* The final series was reduced from a best-of-seven series to a best-of-three series. The semi-finals remained a best-of-five series.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| E1 | Kinston | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Wilson | 3 | | | |
| E2 | Wilson | 3 | E2 | Wilson | 2 |
| | | | W1 | Greensboro | 1 |
| W1 | Greensboro | 3 | W1 | Greensboro | 1 |
| W2 | Durham | 2 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Jim Price, Kinston Eagles |
| Manager of the Year | Pat Colgan, Burlington Indians |