# 2003 Southern League season

The 2003 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 3 and September 1. Ten teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season.
The Carolina Mudcats won the Southern League championship, defeating the Huntsville Stars in the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Carolina Mudcats ended their affiliation with the Colorado Rockies and began a new affiliation with the Florida Marlins.
* The Tennessee Smokies ended their affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays and began a new affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals.

## Teams

2003 Southern League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| East | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Florida Marlins | Five County Stadium |
| East | Greenville Braves | Greenville, South Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Greenville Municipal Stadium |
| East | Jacksonville Suns | Jacksonville, Florida | Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville |
| East | Orlando Rays | Kissimmee, Florida | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Cracker Jack Stadium |
| East | Tennessee Smokies | Sevierville, Tennessee | St. Louis Cardinals | Smokies Park |
| West | Birmingham Barons | Birmingham, Alabama | Chicago White Sox | Hoover Metropolitan Stadium |
| West | Chattanooga Lookouts | Chattanooga, Tennessee | Cincinnati Reds | Bellsouth Park |
| West | Huntsville Stars | Huntsville, Alabama | Milwaukee Brewers | Joe W. Davis Stadium |
| West | Mobile BayBears | Mobile, Alabama | San Diego Padres | Hank Aaron Stadium |
| West | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | Jackson, Tennessee | Chicago Cubs | Pringles Park |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Carolina Mudcats finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1995.

### Standings

East Division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Carolina Mudcats | 80 | 58 | .580 | – |
| Tennessee Smokies | 72 | 67 | .518 | 8.5 |
| Greenville Braves | 68 | 70 | .493 | 12 |
| Jacksonville Suns | 66 | 73 | .475 | 14.5 |
| Orlando Rays | 65 | 72 | .474 | 14.5 |
| West Division |||||
| Huntsville Stars | 75 | 63 | .543 | – |
| Birmingham Barons | 73 | 64 | .533 | 1.5 |
| Chattanooga Lookouts | 66 | 74 | .471 | 10 |
| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 65 | 73 | .471 | 10 |
| Mobile BayBears | 61 | 77 | .442 | 14 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Chris Aguila, Carolina Mudcats | .321 |
| H | Corey Hart, Huntsville Stars | 149 |
| R | Bucky Jacobsen, Tennessee Smokies | 84 |
| 2B | Corey Hart, Huntsville Stars | 40 |
| 3B | Dave Krynzel, Huntsville Stars | 11 |
| HR | Bucky Jacobsen, Tennessee Smokies | 31 |
| RBI | Corey Hart, Huntsville Stars | 94 |
| SB | Billy Hall, Carolina Mudcats | 45 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Enemencio Pacheo, Birmingham Barons Cory Stewart, Mobile BayBears | 12 |
| ERA | Neal Cotts, Birmingham Barons | 2.16 |
| CG | Scott Autrey, Orlando Rays Dan Curtis, Greenville Braves Josh Hall, Chattanooga Lookouts Jon Switzer, Orlando Rays Heath Totten, Jacksonville Suns | 2 |
| SHO | Donnie Bridges, Carolina Mudcats Dan Curtis, Greenville Braves Chad Gaudin, Orlando Rays Jon Leicester, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Jason Shelley, Huntsville Stars Heath Totten, Jacksonville Suns José Veras, Orlando Rays | 1 |
| SV | Mike Lyons, Tennessee Smokies | 31 |
| IP | Heath Totten, Jacksonville Suns | 181.1 |
| SO | Mike Nannini, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 158 |

## Playoffs

* The Carolina Mudcats won their second Southern League championship, defeating the Huntsville Stars in three games.

### Playoff bracket

| Division finals | Division finals | Division finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| E1 | Carolina | 3 | | | |
| E2 | Tennessee | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Tennessee | 1 | E1 | Carolina | 3 |
| | | | W1 | Huntsville | 0 |
| W1 | Huntsville | 3 | W1 | Huntsville | 0 |
| W2 | Birmingham | 2 | | | |

## Awards

Southern League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Corey Hart, Huntsville Stars |
| Pitcher of the Year | Joel Hanrahan, Jacksonville Suns |
| Manager of the Year | Frank Kremblas, Huntsville Stars |