The 1999 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 8 and September 6. 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 Orlando Rays won the Southern League championship, as they defeated the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in the playoffs.
Team changes The Carolina Mudcats ended their affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates and began a new affiliation with the Colorado Rockies. The Huntsville Stars ended their affiliation with the Oakland Athletics and began a new affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Orlando Rays ended their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners and began a new affiliation with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Teams 1999 Southern League Division Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium East Carolina Mudcats Zebulon, North Carolina Colorado Rockies Five County Stadium Greenville Braves Greenville, South Carolina Atlanta Braves Greenville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville Suns Jacksonville, Florida Detroit Tigers Wolfson Park Knoxville Smokies Knoxville, Tennessee Toronto Blue Jays Bill Meyer Stadium Orlando Rays Orlando, Florida Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tinker Field West Birmingham Barons Birmingham, Alabama Chicago White Sox Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Chattanooga Lookouts Chattanooga, Tennessee Cincinnati Reds Engel Stadium Huntsville Stars Huntsville, Alabama Milwaukee Brewers Joe W. Davis Stadium Mobile BayBears Mobile, Alabama San Diego Padres Hank Aaron Stadium West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Jackson, Tennessee Chicago Cubs Pringles Park
Map of teams
Regular season Summary The West Tenn Diamond Jaxx finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time in team history. Despite finishing the regular season with the best record in the East Division, the Jacksonville Suns failed to qualify for the playoffs as they did not finish either half of the season in first place.
Standings 1999 SOUL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed March 15, 2025 East Division Team Win Loss % GB Jacksonville Suns 75 66 – Knoxville Smokies 71 69 3.5 Orlando Rays 70 68 3.5 Carolina Mudcats 60 80 14.5 Greenville Braves 58 80 15.5West Division West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 84 57 – Chattanooga Lookouts 78 62 5.5 Birmingham Barons 73 67 10.5 Mobile BayBears 66 73 17 Huntsville Stars 64 77 20
League Leaders Batting leaders 1999 SL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 15, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Brady Clark, Chattanooga Lookouts .326 H Brent Abernathy, Knoxville Smokies 168 R Brent Abernathy, Knoxville Smokies 108 2B Scott Vieira, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 44 3B Ethan Faggett, Mobile BayBears 11 HR Javier Cardona, Jacksonville Suns 26 RBI Tim Giles, Knoxville Smokies 114 SB Ethan Faggett, Mobile BayBears 64
Pitching leaders 1999 SL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed March 15, 2025 Stat Player Total W Dave Darwin, Jacksonville Suns 14 ERA Jeff Yoder, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 3.08 CG David Manning, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 6 SHO Junior Herndon, Mobile BayBears David Manning, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Derek Lee, Huntsville Stars 2 SV Francisco Cordero, Jacksonville Suns 27 IP Dave Darwin, Jacksonville Suns 187.1 SO Víctor Santos, Jacksonville Suns 146
Playoffs The Orlando Rays won their third Southern League championship, defeating the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in four games.
Playoff bracket
Awards Southern League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Brady Clark, Chattanooga Lookouts Pitcher of the Year Francisco Cordero, Jacksonville Suns Manager of the Year Dave Trembley, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
See also 1999 Major League Baseball season
References
External links Minor League Baseball official website