Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars are a Class A Minor League Baseball team, affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks,[2] that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva, Illinois, about 35 miles (56 km) west of Chicago.

Kane County Cougars
Founded in 1991
Geneva, Illinois
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassClass-A[1]
LeagueMidwest League (1991–present)
DivisionWestern Division
Major league affiliations
TeamArizona Diamondbacks (2015–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (2)
  • 2001
  • 2014
Division titles (5)
  • 2001
  • 2004
  • 2006
  • 2014
  • 2019
Team data
NicknameKane County Cougars
Previous names
Wausau Timbers (1975–1990)
Decatur Commodores (1952–1974)
BallparkNorthwestern Medicine Field
Previous parks
Athletic Park (Wausau, WI)
Fans Field (Decatur, IL)
ManagerVince Harrison
General ManagerCurtis Haug
Kane County Cougars, playing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Fox Cities Stadium on June 9, 2006.

Team 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).[3] 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.[4]

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,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8][9]

Roster
Kane County Cougars roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • -- Cal Becker ‡
  • -- Geoffrey Bramblett
  • 19 Adrian Del Moral
  • 45 Luis Frias
  • 16 Michel Gelabert
  • 12 Jackson Goddard
  • 26 Kenny Hernandez
  • 30 Yaramil Hiraldo
  • 15 Levi Kelly
  • 11 Kai–Wei Lin
  • 40 Chester Pimentel
  • 25 Wesley Rodriquez
  • 23 Matt Tabor
  • 22 Andy Toelken
  • -- Blake Workman

Catchers

  •  9 Zachery Almond
  •  1 Nick Dalesandro

Infielders

  •  5 Blaze Alexander
  • 14 David Garza
  •  7 Buddy Kennedy
  •  4 Steven Leyton
  •  8 Keshawn Lynch
  •  6 Joey Rose
  • 32 Zack Shannon

Outfielders

  • 17 Dominic Fletcher
  •  3 Tra Holmes
  • 10 Kristian Robinson

Manager

  • 13 Vince Harrison

Coaches

  • -- Barry Enright (pitching)
  • -- Juan Francia (coach)
  • -- K.C. Judge (hitting)


7-day injured list
* On Arizona Diamondbacks 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated February 16, 2020
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League
 → Arizona Diamondbacks minor league players

Notable alumni

Notable franchise alumni include:[10]

Minor league affiliations
Main article: List of Arizona Diamondbacks minor league affiliates
Level Team League Location
AAA Reno Aces Pacific Coast League Reno, Nevada
AA Jackson Generals Southern League Jackson, Tennessee
Advanced A Visalia Rawhide California League Visalia, California
A Kane County Cougars Midwest League Geneva, Illinois
Short Season A Hillsboro Hops Northwest League Hillsboro, Oregon
Rookie Missoula Osprey Pioneer League Missoula, Montana
AZL D-backs Arizona League Scottsdale, Arizona
DSL D-backs Dominican Summer League Boca Chica, Dominican Republic

References
  1. http://www.milb.com/milb/info/classifications.jsp
  2. "Cougars Announce Affiliation With Arizona Diamondbacks". Kane County Cougars. September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi
  4. "Cougars History". MiLB.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  5. http://atmilb.com/2f0ZmkD
  6. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-22/news/ct-tl-geneva-10-millionth-cougar-20130725_1_elfstrom-general-manager-curtis-haug-minor-league-baseball
  7. Kane County Cougars. "Cougars' 2020 Season Canceled". KCCougars.
  8. "New-Look Ozzie T. Cougar – 'Coolest Cougar' in Kane County?". Kane County Connects. February 18, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  9. "Annie T. Cougar Is Baseball Team's Newest Mascot". Suburban Chronicle. June 2, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  10. "Major League Cougars | Kane County Cougars Roster". Kane County Cougars. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
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