# 1951 Carolina League season

The 1951 Carolina League was a Class B baseball season played between April 18 and September 3. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the post-season.
The Winston-Salem Cardinals won the Carolina League championship, defeating the Reidsville Luckies in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Burlington Bees began an affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
* The Greensboro Patriots began an affiliation with the Chicago Cubs.

## Teams

1951 Carolina League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Burlington Bees | Burlington, North Carolina | Pittsburgh Pirates | Elon College Park |
| Danville Leafs | Danville, Virginia | None | League Park |
| Durham Bulls | Durham, North Carolina | Detroit Tigers | Durham Athletic Park |
| Fayetteville Athletics | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Philadelphia Athletics | Pittman Stadium |
| Greensboro Patriots | Greensboro, North Carolina | Chicago Cubs | World War Memorial Stadium |
| 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 Durham Bulls finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time since in team history.
* The regular season schedule was shortened from 154-games to 140-games.

### Standings

Carolina League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Durham Bulls | 84 | 56 | .600 | – |
| Winston-Salem Cardinals | 81 | 58 | .583 | 2.5 |
| Raleigh Capitals | 78 | 62 | .557 | 6 |
| Reidsville Luckies | 76 | 64 | .543 | 8 |
| Greensboro Patriots | 67 | 73 | .479 | 17 |
| Danville Leafs | 66 | 73 | .475 | 17.5 |
| Fayetteville Athletics | 59 | 79 | .428 | 24 |
| Burlington Bees | 47 | 93 | .336 | 37 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals | .363 |
| H | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 200 |
| R | Hank Navarro, Durham Bulls | 116 |
| 2B | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 45 |
| 3B | Joe Cunningham, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 11 |
| HR | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals Carl Miller, Reidsville Luckies | 28 |
| RBI | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 127 |
| SB | Herb Mancini, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 36 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Mike Forline, Reidsville Luckies | 21 |
| ERA | Jim Lewey, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 2.65 |
| CG | Mike Forline, Reidsville Luckies | 21 |
| SHO | Jim Lewey, Winston-Salem Cardinals John McPadden, Durham Bulls | 5 |
| SO | Dennis Reeder, Winston-Salem Cardinals | 155 |
| IP | Mike Forline, Reidsville Luckies | 264.0 |

## Playoffs

* The Winston-Salem Cardinals won their second consecutive Carolina League championship, defeating the Reidsville Luckies in five games.
* The league semi-finals were lengthened from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven.

### Playoff bracket

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

## Awards

Carolina League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Ray Jablonski, Winston-Salem Cardinals |
| Manager of the Year | Ace Parker, Durham Bulls |