Kane County Cougars

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

Kane County Cougars
Founded in 1991
Geneva, Illinois
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassIndependent (from 2021)
Previous classesClass A (1991–2020)
LeagueAmerican Association (from 2021)
Previous leagues
Midwest League (1991–2020)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (2)
  • 2001
  • 2014
Division titles (5)
  • 2001
  • 2004
  • 2006
  • 2014
  • 2019
Team data
NameKane County Cougars (1991–present)
BallparkNorthwestern Medicine Field (1991–present)
General ManagerCurtis Haug
ManagerTBD (from 2021)
Kane County Cougars, playing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Fox Cities Stadium on June 9, 2006.

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 considered becoming a member of the MLB Draft League before joining the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League.[7][8]

Playoffs
SeasonQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
1991-L, 2–0, Madison-
1992---
1993---
1994---
1995L, 2–1, West Michigan--
1996---
1997W, 2–0, WisconsinW, 2–0, Cedar RapidsL, 3–2, Lansing
1998---
1999W, 2–1, Quad CitiesL, 2–0, Burlington-
2000L, 2–1, Wisconsin--
2001W, 2–0, BeloitW, 2–0, WisconsinW, 1–0, South Bend
2002---
2003L, 2–1, Clinton--
2004W, 2–1, PeoriaW, 2–0, ClintonL, 3–2, West Michigan
2005---
2006W, 2–1, Quad CitiesW, 2–0, BeloitL, 3–1, West Michigan
2007---
2008L, 2–0, Burlington--
2009L, 2–0, Burlington--
2010W, 2–1, Quad CitiesL, 2–1, Clinton-
2011W, 2–1, BurlingtonL, 2–0, Quad Cities-
2012L, 2–0, Fort Wayne--
2013---
2014W, 2–0, WisconsinW, 2–0, Cedar RapidsW, 3–0, Lake County
2015L, 2–0, Peoria--
2016---
2017L, 2–0, Cedar Rapids--
2018---
2019L, 2–0, Clinton--

Mascots

The team's mascots are Ozzie T. Cougar and his sister Annie T. Cougar.[9][10]

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

Pitchers

  • TBD
  

Catchers

  • TBD

Infielders

  • TBD

Outfielders

  • TBD
  

Manager

  • TBD

Coaches

  • TBD

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

 updated February 4, 2021
 Transactions

Notable alumni

Notable franchise alumni include:[11]

References
  1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi
  2. "Cougars History". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. http://atmilb.com/2f0ZmkD
  4. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-22/news/ct-tl-geneva-10-millionth-cougar-20130725_1_elfstrom-general-manager-curtis-haug-minor-league-baseball
  5. Kane County Cougars. "Cougars' 2020 Season Canceled". KCCougars.
  6. "Kane County Cougars Not Invited to Remain MiLB Affiliate, Aim to Join MLB Partner League". NBC Chicago. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. 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.
  8. "AMERICAN ASSOCIATION WELCOMES KANE COUNTY COUGARS AS NEW LEAGUE MEMBER". americanassociationbaseball.com. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  9. "New-Look Ozzie T. Cougar – 'Coolest Cougar' in Kane County?". Kane County Connects. February 18, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  10. "Annie T. Cougar Is Baseball Team's Newest Mascot". Suburban Chronicle. June 2, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  11. "Major League Cougars | Kane County Cougars Roster". Kane County Cougars. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
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