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1913-14 North Carolina State League — Off-Season Period
The inaugural season of the North Carolina State League proved a success, capped by the Twins' exciting run to the post-season championship. All of the clubs averaged 2,000 to 3,000 fans per game, more than anticipated. As a result, all six clubs who played in 1913 agreed to come back for a second season.
The teams got together in November and decided to hold an allocation draft that would solve how to send new players to the league's teams. To keep things as competitive as possible, it was agreed that the team with worst record from the year before — in this case the Charlotte Hornets — would have the first pick among the new prospects, followed by the No. 5 team (Greensboro Patriots), etc. The rest of the rounds would be done in a straight-draft mode…
Charlotte went for pitching to start with, tabbing 18-year-old Tim “T-Rex” Johnston from Houston, Texas. He reportedly has some nasty stuff and can stay on the mound all day long if need be. Charlotte took five pitchers in a row before getting a position player, hoping to improve its fortunes and keep its fans.
The champion Winston-Salem Twins bucked the pitching-first trend and selected a catcher in the opening round, taking Todd “The Wall” Chandler. He’s 23 and already pretty well-known in baseball circles. He looks solid defensively and offensively.
In other news, club officials agreed to create a “farm system” that would allow players on the reserve rosters to see real-life game action. The farm system teams will reside in the same city as their parent team for now, usually playing games on practice fields or school fields in their communities. One newspaper referred to the developmental teams as "junior teams" and that moniker stuck. So the Durham Bulls' farm team will be known as the Durham Junior Bulls, Charlotte‘s will be the Junior Hornets, etc. They’ll play a 90-game schedule, allowing for the top guys to move up to their big clubs for the stretch run…
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