| Kane County Cougars Founded in 1991 Geneva, Illinois | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
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| Class | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A (1991-2020) | ||||
| League | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
Previous leagues | Midwest League (1991-2020) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Kane County Cougars (1991-present) | ||||
| Ballpark | Northwestern Medicine Field (1991-present) | ||||
| General Manager | Curtis Haug | ||||
| Manager | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
The Kane County Cougars are a baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois. They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League. With Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Kane County was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball. The team is exploring options such joining an independent MLB Partner League or the MLB Draft League for 2021.
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).[1] 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.[2]
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,[3] 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.[4]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.[5] 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.[6] The team plans to continue in 2021 in either an independent MLB Partner League or the MLB Draft League.[7]
Playoffs
| 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 | - | - |
Mascots
The team's mascots are Ozzie T. Cougar and his sister Annie T. Cougar.[8][9]
Roster
Notable alumni
Notable franchise alumni include:[10]
- Victor Caratini (2014)
- Kyle Schwarber (2014) 2016 World Series Champion
- Paul Blackburn (2014)
- Pierce Johnson (2014)
- Jen-Ho Tseng (2014)
- Zack Godley (2014)
- David Bote (2013-2014)
- Jeimer Candelario (2013-2014)
- Willson Contreras (2013) MLB All-Star
- Dan Vogelbach (2013)
- Dillon Maples (2013)
- Rob Zastryzny (2013)
- Scott Baker (2013)
- Albert Almora (2013)
- Yordano Ventura (2011)
- Tyson Ross (2008) MLB All-Star
- Trevor Cahill (2007) MLB All-Star
- Sean Doolittle (2007) 2x MLB All-Star
- Andrew Bailey (2007) 2x MLB All-Star; 2009 AL Rookie of the Year
- Jeff Gray (2006)
- Cliff Pennington (2005)
- Ryan Webb (2005)
- Dallas Braden (2004) Perfect game in 2010
- Huston Street (2004) 2x MLB All-Star; 2005 AL Rookie of the Year
- John Baker (2003)
- Joe Blanton (2003)
- Nelson Cruz (2003) 6x MLB All-Star; 2x Silver Slugger; 2011 ALCS MVP; 2014 MLB Home Run Leader; 2017 AL RBI Leader
- Andre Ethier (2003) 2x MLB All-Star; 2009 Silver Slugger; 2011 Gold Glove
- Dontrelle Willis (2002) 2x MLB All-Star; 2003 NL Rookie of the Year; 2005 NL Wins Leader
- Miguel Cabrera (2001) 10x MLB All-Star; 4× AL Batting Champion; 2× AL Home Run Leader; 2× AL RBI Leader; 2× AL MVP; 2012 Triple Crown
- Adrián González (2001) 5x MLB All-Star; 2x Silver Slugger; 4x Gold Glove; 2014 NL RBI Leader
- Josh Willingham (2001)
- Josh Beckett (2000) 3x MLB All-Star; 2003 World Series MVP; 2007 ALCS MVP; 2007 MLB Wins Leader; 2014 No-Hitter
- Josh Wilson (2000)
- Nate Robertson (1999-2000)
- Claudio Vargas (1999)
- A. J. Burnett (1998) MLB All-Star; 2008 AL Strikeout Leader; 2001 No-Hitter
- Scott Podsednik (1997) MLB All-Star; 2004 NL Stolen Base Leader; 2005 World Series Champion
- Ryan Dempster (1996) 2x MLB All-Star
- Alex Gonzalez (1996)
- Mark Kotsay (1996)
- Randy Winn (1996) MLB All-Star
- Luis Castillo (1995) 3x Gold Glove; 3x MLB All-Star; 2x NL Stolen Base Leader
- Ryan Jackson (1995)
- Brian Meadows (1995)
- Antonio Alfonseca (1994) 2000 NL Saves Leader
- Félix Heredia (1994)
- Kevin Millar (1994)
- Hector Carrasco (1993)
- Charles Johnson (1993) 4x Gold Glove; 2x MLB All-Star
- Mike Redmond (1993-94)
- Édgar Rentería (1993) 2x Gold Glove; 3x Silver Slugger; 5x MLB All-Star; 2010 World Series MVP
- Alex Ochoa (1992)
- Joe Borowski (1991)
- Tom Martin (1991)
- Brad Pennington (1991)
- Gregg Zaun (1991)
References
- ^ https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi
- ^ "Cougars History". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ http://atmilb.com/2f0ZmkD
- ^ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-22/news/ct-tl-geneva-10-millionth-cougar-20130725_1_elfstrom-general-manager-curtis-haug-minor-league-baseball
- ^ Kane County Cougars. "Cougars' 2020 Season Canceled". KCCougars.
- ^ "Kane County Cougars Not Invited to Remain MiLB Affiliate, Aim to Join MLB Partner League". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Gregor, Scot (December 10, 2020). "Some major changes are coming for the Kane County Cougars. Here's what they are". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "New-Look Ozzie T. Cougar - 'Coolest Cougar' in Kane County?". Kane County Connects. February 18, 2016. Retrieved 2016.
- ^ "Annie T. Cougar Is Baseball Team's Newest Mascot". Suburban Chronicle. June 2, 2016. Retrieved 2016.
- ^ "Major League Cougars | Kane County Cougars Roster". Kane County Cougars. Retrieved 2015.
External links
This article uses material from the Wikipedia page available here. It is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.