1995 Southern League season

1995 Southern League season
League	Southern League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 6 – September 4
Number of games	144
Number of teams	10
Regular season
League champions	Carolina Mudcats
Season MVP	Jason Kendall, Carolina Mudcats
Playoffs
League champions	Carolina Mudcats
Runners-up	Chattanooga Lookouts

The 1995 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 6 and September 4. Ten teams played a 144-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, as they defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts in the playoffs.

Team changes

• The Nashville Xpress relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina and were renamed to the Port City Roosters. The team moved from the West Division to the East Division. The club ended their affiliation with the Minnesota Twins and began a new affiliation with the Seattle Mariners.
• The Jacksonville Suns ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners and began a new affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.
• The Knoxville Smokies moved from the East Division to the West Division.
• The Memphis Chicks ended their affiliation with the Kansas City Royals and began a new affiliation with the San Diego Padres.

Teams

1995 Southern League
Division	Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
East	Carolina Mudcats	Zebulon, North Carolina	Pittsburgh Pirates	Five County Stadium
	Greenville Braves	Greenville, South Carolina	Atlanta Braves	Greenville Municipal Stadium
	Jacksonville Suns	Jacksonville, Florida	Detroit Tigers	Wolfson Park
	Orlando Cubs	Orlando, Florida	Chicago Cubs	Tinker Field
	Port City Roosters	Wilmington, North Carolina	Seattle Mariners	Brooks Field
West	Birmingham Barons	Birmingham, Alabama	Chicago White Sox	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
	Chattanooga Lookouts	Chattanooga, Tennessee	Cincinnati Reds	Engel Stadium
	Huntsville Stars	Huntsville, Alabama	Oakland Athletics	Joe W. Davis Stadium
	Knoxville Smokies	Knoxville, Tennessee	Toronto Blue Jays	Bill Meyer Stadium
	Memphis Chicks	Memphis, Tennessee	San Diego Padres	Tim McCarver Stadium

Map of teams

Carolina

Greenville

Jackson-
ville

Orlando

Port City

Birming-
ham

Chattan-
ooga

Huntsville

Knoxville

Memphis

East Division West Division

Regular season

Summary

• The Carolina Mudcats finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time in franchise history.

Standings

East Division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Carolina Mudcats	89	55	.618	–
Orlando Cubs	76	67	.531	12.5
Jacksonville Suns	75	69	.521	14
Port City Roosters	62	80	.437	26
Greenville Braves	59	83	.415	29
West Division
Chattanooga Lookouts	83	60	.580	–
Birmingham Barons	80	64	.556	3.5
Huntsville Stars	70	74	.486	13.5
Memphis Chicks	68	74	.479	14.5
Knoxville Smokies	54	90	.375	29.5

League Leaders

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Jason Kendall, Carolina Mudcats	.326
H	Ruben Santana, Chattanooga Lookouts	163
R	Essex Burton, Birmingham Barons	95
2B	Jim Bonnici, Port City Roosters	36
3B	Lorenzo De La Cruz, Knoxville Smokies	12
HR	Iván Cruz, Jacksonville Suns	31
RBI	George Canale, Carolina Mudcats	102
SB	Essex Burton, Birmingham Barons	60

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Elmer Dessens, Carolina Mudcats	15
ERA	Elmer Dessens, Carolina Mudcats	2.49
CG	Rob Mattson, Memphis Chicks	11
SHO	Rob Mattson, Memphis Chicks Matt Ruebel, Carolina Mudcats Clint Sodowsky, Jacksonville Suns	3
SV	John Kelly, Jacksonville Suns Rusty Kilgo, Chattanooga Lookouts	29
IP	Rob Mattson, Memphis Chicks	202.1
SO	Osvaldo Fernández, Port City Roosters	162

Playoffs

• The Carolina Mudcats won their first Southern League championship, defeating the Chattanooga Lookouts in five games.

Playoff bracket

	Division finals					Finals
	E1	Carolina	3
	E2	Orlando	2
						E1	Carolina	3
						W1	Chattanooga	2
	W1	Chattanooga	3
	W2	Memphis	2

Awards

Southern League awards
Award name	Recipient
Most Valuable Player	Jason Kendall, Carolina Mudcats
Pitcher of the Year	Luis Andújar, Birmingham Barons
Manager of the Year	Bruce Kimm, Orlando Cubs

See also

• 1995 Major League Baseball season

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website