# 2001 Southern League season

The 2001 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 5 and September 3. 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 Huntsville Stars and Jacksonville Suns were co-champions of the Southern League championship.

## Team changes

* The Chattanooga Lookouts moved from the West Division to the East Division.
* The Tennessee Smokies moved from the East Division to the West Division.
* The Jacksonville Suns ended their affiliation with the Detroit Tigers and began a new affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

## Teams

2001 Southern League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| East | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Colorado Rockies | Five County Stadium |
| East | Chattanooga Lookouts | Chattanooga, Tennessee | Cincinnati Reds | Bellsouth Park |
| East | Greenville Braves | Greenville, South Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Greenville Municipal Stadium |
| East | Jacksonville Suns | Jacksonville, Florida | Los Angeles Dodgers | Wolfson Park |
| East | Orlando Rays | Kissimmee, Florida | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Cracker Jack Stadium |
| West | Birmingham Barons | Birmingham, Alabama | Chicago White Sox | Hoover Metropolitan Stadium |
| West | Huntsville Stars | Huntsville, Alabama | Milwaukee Brewers | Joe W. Davis Stadium |
| West | Mobile BayBears | Mobile, Alabama | San Diego Padres | Hank Aaron Stadium |
| West | Tennessee Smokies | Sevierville, Tennessee | Toronto Blue Jays | Smokies Park |
| West | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | Jackson, Tennessee | Chicago Cubs | Pringles Park |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Jacksonville Suns finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time since 1998.

### Standings

East Division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Jacksonville Suns | 83 | 56 | .597 | – |
| Chattanooga Lookouts | 72 | 67 | .518 | 11 |
| Carolina Mudcats | 62 | 76 | .449 | 20.5 |
| Greenville Braves | 60 | 79 | .432 | 23 |
| Orlando Rays | 59 | 81 | .421 | 24.5 |
| West Division |||||
| Birmingham Barons | 80 | 60 | .571 | – |
| Tennessee Smokies | 80 | 60 | .571 | – |
| Huntsville Stars | 75 | 63 | .543 | 4 |
| Mobile BayBears | 65 | 73 | .471 | 14 |
| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 59 | 80 | .424 | 20.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ben Broussard, Chattanooga Lookouts | .320 |
| H | Reed Johnson, Tennessee Smokies | 174 |
| R | Reed Johnson, Tennessee Smokies | 104 |
| 2B | Josh Phelps, Tennessee Smokies | 36 |
| 3B | Glenn Davis, Jacksonville Suns Orlando Hudson, Tennessee Smokies | 8 |
| HR | Josh Phelps, Tennessee Smokies | 31 |
| RBI | Joe Borchard, Birmingham Barons | 98 |
| SB | Jorge Nuñez, Jacksonville Suns | 44 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Chris Baker, Tennessee Smokies Mitch Wylie, Birmingham Barons | 15 |
| ERA | Steve Smyth, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 2.54 |
| CG | Chris Baker, Tennessee Smokies Scott Cassidy, Tennessee Smokies | 4 |
| SHO | Scott Cassidy, Tennessee Smokies | 3 |
| SV | Edwin Almonte, Birmingham Barons | 36 |
| IP | Jim Magrane, Orlando Rays | 182.0 |
| SO | Nick Neugebauer, Huntsville Stars | 149 |

## Playoffs

* Due to the September 11 attacks, the final round of the playoffs was canceled. The Huntsville Stars and Jacksonville Suns were declared co-champions.
* The Huntsville Stars won their third Southern League championship.
* The Jacksonville Suns won their second Southern League championship.

### Playoff bracket

| Division finals | Division finals | Division finals | Finals | Finals |
| E1 | Jacksonville | 3 | | |
| E2 | Chattanooga | 2 | | |
| E2 | Chattanooga | 2 | E1 | Jacksonville |
| | | | W2 | Huntsville |
| W1 | Birmingham | 2 | W2 | Huntsville |
| W2 | Huntsville | 3 | | |

## Awards

Southern League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Josh Phelps, Tennessee Smokies |
| Pitcher of the Year | Chris Baker, Tennessee Smokies |
| Manager of the Year | John Shoemaker, Jacksonville Suns |