# 1959 Carolina League season

The 1959 Carolina League was a Class B baseball season played between April 17 and August 28. Six teams played a 130-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Wilson Tobs won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Danville Leafs fold.
* The High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms fold.
* The Wilson Tobs ended their affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles and began a new affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Teams

1959 Carolina League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Burlington Indians | Burlington, North Carolina | Cleveland Indians | Graham High School |
| Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Detroit Tigers | Durham Athletic Park |
| Greensboro Yankees | Greensboro, North Carolina | New York Yankees | World War Memorial Stadium |
| Raleigh Capitals | Raleigh, North Carolina | Boston Red Sox | Devereaux Meadow |
| Wilson Tobs | Wilson, North Carolina | Pittsburgh Pirates | Fleming Stadium |
| Winston-Salem Red Birds | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | St. Louis Cardinals | Ernie Shore Field |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Raleigh Capitals finished with the best record in the league for the first time since 1953.
* The regular season schedule was reduced from 140-games to 130-games.

### Standings

Carolina League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Raleigh Capitals | 78 | 52 | .600 | – |
| Wilson Tobs | 71 | 58 | .550 | 6.5 |
| Durham Bulls | 70 | 60 | .538 | 8 |
| Winston-Salem Red Birds | 67 | 62 | .519 | 10.5 |
| Greensboro Yankees | 54 | 76 | .415 | 24 |
| Burlington Indians | 49 | 81 | .377 | 29 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Carl Yastrzemski, Raleigh Capitals | .377 |
| H | Carl Yastrzemski, Raleigh Capitals | 170 |
| R | Don Lock, Greensboro Yankees | 102 |
| 2B | Carl Yastrzemski, Raleigh Capitals | 34 |
| 3B | Leo Smith, Durham Bulls | 9 |
| HR | Don Lock, Greensboro Yankees | 30 |
| RBI | Don Lock, Greensboro Yankees | 122 |
| SB | Elder White, Wilson Tobs | 35 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Donald Dobrino, Wilson Tobs Bill Spanswick, Raleigh Capitals | 15 |
| ERA | Phillip Kliewer, Durham Bulls | 2.09 |
| CG | Frank Carpin, Greensboro Yankees | 14 |
| SHO | Jim Weaver, Burlington Indians | 4 |
| SO | Bob Veale, Wilson Tobs | 187 |
| IP | Sam McIntyre, Winston-Salem Red Birds | 196.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Wilson Tobs won their first Carolina League championship, defeating the Raleigh Capitals in four games.
* The semi-finals were extended from a best-of-three series to a best-of-five series.
* The finals were extended from a best-of-three series to a best-of-five series.
* The Raleigh Capitals and Winston-Salem Red Birds series was shortened to a best-of-three series due to poor weather conditions.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Raleigh | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Winston-Salem | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Winston-Salem | 0 | 1 | Raleigh | 0 |
| | | | 2 | Wilson | 4 |
| 2 | Wilson | 3 | 2 | Wilson | 4 |
| 3 | Durham | 0 | | | |

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Carl Yastrzemski, Raleigh Capitals |
| Manager of the Year | Ken Deal, Raleigh Capitals |