Kane County Cougars

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Kane County Cougars
KaneCountyCougars.png KaneCountyCougarscap.png
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
LeagueAmerican Association of Professional Baseball (2021–present) (North Division)
LocationGeneva, Illinois
BallparkNorthwestern Medicine Field (1991–present)
Year founded1991
Nickname(s)Kane County Cougars (2001–present)
League championships
  • 2001
  • 2014
Division championships
  • 2001
  • 2004
  • 2006
  • 2014
  • 2019
Former league(s)Midwest League (1991–2020)
OwnershipBob Froehlich
ManagerGeorge Tsamis (2021–present)
General ManagerCurtis Haug
PresidentBob Froehlich
Kane County Cougars, playing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Fox Cities Stadium on June 9, 2006.

The Kane County Cougars are a baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball.[1] They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League.

History[]

The Midwest League came to Kane County in 1991 when the Wausau Timbers relocated to Geneva, IL. The Wausau (1975–1990) Midwest League franchise was previously based in Decatur, Illinois (1952–74).[2] The team has been known as the Cougars since moving to Kane County. They were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and 1992, with the Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2002, the Oakland Athletics from 2003 until 2010, the Kansas City Royals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and the Chicago Cubs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before affiliating with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.[3]

As a Marlins farm team, some key contributors to the 2003 World Series championship team played in Kane County on their way to the big leagues. Miguel Cabrera has had a notable career and 2003 Series MVP Josh Beckett played for the Cougars in 2000, while Dontrelle Willis had the league's best winning percentage and earned run average in 2002.

The Cougars play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field,[4] built in 1991. The franchise attendance record of 523,222 was set in 2001. The Cougars are perennially among the league leaders in attendance. On July 20, 2013 the Cougars became the first Class A team to attract 10 million fans.[5] Nancy Faust, after 40 years with the Chicago White Sox, was the stadium organist for selected Cougar home games until her retirement after the 2015 season.

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars' season was cancelled along with the rest of Minor League Baseball.[6] Later that year, the team was cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball as part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues.[7] The team considered becoming a member of the MLB Draft League before joining the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League.[8][9]

Playoffs[]

Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League
Season Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1991 - L, 2–0, Madison -
1992 - - -
1993 - - -
1994 - - -
1995 L, 2–1, West Michigan - -
1996 - - -
1997 W, 2–0, Wisconsin W, 2–0, Cedar Rapids L, 3–2, Lansing
1998 - - -
1999 W, 2–1, Quad Cities L, 2–0, Burlington -
2000 L, 2–1, Wisconsin - -
2001 W, 2–0, Beloit W, 2–0, Wisconsin W, 1–0, South Bend
2002 - - -
2003 L, 2–1, Clinton - -
2004 W, 2–1, Peoria W, 2–0, Clinton L, 3–2, West Michigan
2005 - - -
2006 W, 2–1, Quad Cities W, 2–0, Beloit L, 3–1, West Michigan
2007 - - -
2008 L, 2–0, Burlington - -
2009 L, 2–0, Burlington - -
2010 W, 2–1, Quad Cities L, 2–1, Clinton -
2011 W, 2–1, Burlington L, 2–0, Quad Cities -
2012 L, 2–0, Fort Wayne - -
2013 - - -
2014 W, 2–0, Wisconsin W, 2–0, Cedar Rapids W, 3–0, Lake County
2015 L, 2–0, Peoria - -
2016 - - -
2017 L, 2–0, Cedar Rapids - -
2018 - - -
2019 L, 2–0, Clinton - -
Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball
2021 - - -


Mascots[]

The team's mascots are Ozzie T. Cougar and his sister Annie T. Cougar.[10][11]

Roster[]

Kane County Cougars roster
Active (22-man) roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 29 Ben Allison
  • 86 Marty Anderson
  • 40 Koby Bishop ‡
  • 36 Christian DeLeon
  • 12 Jack Fox ‡
  •  4 Eddie Medina
  • 17 Ryan Richardson
  • 30 Andrew Stout
  • 25 Danny Taggart
  • 18 Zach Taglieri
  • 13 Josh Tols



  

Catchers

  • 14 B. J. Lopez
  • 16 Josh Rolette ‡

Infielders

  •  3 Brandon Chinea

Outfielders

  • 33 Nick Anderson
  

Manager

Coaches

  • 44 Kerry Ligtenberg (pitching)
  • 23 Ole Sheldon (hitting)
  •    Kaela Johnson (trainer)

Injury icon 2.svg Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

 updated September 9, 2021
 Transactions

Notable alumni[]

Notable franchise alumni include:[12]

References[]

  1. ^ Reichard, Kevin (September 24, 2020). "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  2. ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi
  3. ^ "Cougars History". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  4. ^ http://atmilb.com/2f0ZmkD
  5. ^ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-22/news/ct-tl-geneva-10-millionth-cougar-20130725_1_elfstrom-general-manager-curtis-haug-minor-league-baseball
  6. ^ Kane County Cougars. "Cougars' 2020 Season Canceled". KCCougars.
  7. ^ "Kane County Cougars Not Invited to Remain MiLB Affiliate, Aim to Join MLB Partner League". NBC Chicago. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Gregor, Scot (December 10, 2020). "Some major changes are coming for the Kane County Cougars. Here's what they are". Daily Herald. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "AMERICAN ASSOCIATION WELCOMES KANE COUNTY COUGARS AS NEW LEAGUE MEMBER". americanassociationbaseball.com. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "New-Look Ozzie T. Cougar – 'Coolest Cougar' in Kane County?". Kane County Connects. February 18, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. ^ "Annie T. Cougar Is Baseball Team's Newest Mascot". Suburban Chronicle. June 2, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "Major League Cougars | Kane County Cougars Roster". Kane County Cougars. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

External links[]

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