Kane County Cougars

Kane County Cougars Founded in 1991 Geneva, Illinois
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Current	Class-A[1]
Minor league affiliations
League	Midwest League (1991–present)
Division	Western Division
Major league affiliations
Current	Arizona Diamondbacks (2015–present)
Previous	Chicago Cubs (2013–2014) Kansas City Royals (2011–2012) Oakland Athletics (2003–2010) Florida Marlins (1993–2002) Baltimore Orioles (1991–1992)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)	2001 2014
Division titles (4)	2001 2004 2006 2014
Team data
Nickname	Kane County Cougars
Previous names	Wausau Timbers (1975–1990) Decatur Commodores (1952–1974)
Ballpark	Fifth Third Bank Ballpark
Previous parks	Athletic Park (Wausau, WI) Fans Field (Decatur, IL)
Manager	Mike Benjamin
General Manager	Curtis Haug

Kane County Cougars, playing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Fox Cities Stadium on June 9, 2006.

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 Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva, Illinois, about 35 miles west of Chicago.

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, and with the Kansas City Royals for the 2011 and 2012 seasons before joining the Chicago Cubs for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

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 Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, 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, is the stadium organist for selected Cougar home games.

Roster

Kane County Cougars roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 45 Ryan Burr 38 Taylor Clarke 33 Justin Donatella 15 Cammeron Gann 18 Junior Garcia 26 Carlos Hernandez 21 Keegan Long -- Jose Martinez -- Austin Mason ‡ 17 Gabriel Moya 29 Joel Payamps 44 Cody Reed 22 Jency Solis 10 Gabe Speier 32 Bo Takahasi 23 Alex Young		Catchers 12 Eduardo de Oleo 24 Jose Queliz Infielders 30 Josh Anderson 25 Didimo Bracho  1 Galli Cribbs  2 Raymel Flores 11 Trevor Mitsui 11 Joe Munoz  3 Robelys Reyes Outfielders 16 Quinnton Mack  6 Matt McPhearson  9 Jason Morozowski 19 Zach Nehrir 14 Luis Veras		Manager  4 Mike Benjamin Coaches  5 Jon Mathews (hitting) 10 Shawn Roof (coach) 13 Rich Sauveur (pitching) 7-day disabled list * On Arizona Diamondbacks 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated May 7, 2014 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → Arizona Diamondbacks minor league players

Team affiliations

Level	Team	League	Location
Major League	Arizona Diamondbacks	National League	Phoenix, Arizona
AAA	Reno Aces	Pacific Coast League	Reno, Nevada
AA	Mobile BayBears	Southern League	Mobile, Alabama
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

Notable Kane County Alumni

Other franchise alumni with the Decatur Commodores and the Wausau Timbers had MLB careers. Many future Major Leaguers have played with the Cougars before playing in the Majors. Some notable Cougars alumni include:^[5]

Alumni: Most Valuable Player Award

• Miguel Cabrera (2001) 10 x MLB All-Star; 4 × AL Batting Champion (2011–2013, 2015);2 × AL Home Run Leader (2008, 2012);2 × AL RBI Leader (2010, 2012);2 × AL MVP (2012, 2013); AL Triple Crown (2012)

Alumni: Rookie of the Year Award

• Dontrelle Willis (2002) 2 x MLB All-Star; 2003 NL Rookie of the Year; 2005 NL Wins Leader
• Huston Street (2004) 2 x MLB All-Star; 2005 AL Rookie of the Year
• Andrew Bailey (2007) 2 x MLB All-Star; 2009 AL Rookie of the Year

Notable Alumni

• Mark Grudzielanek (2015, MGR) GG; MLB All-Star
• Kyuji Fujikawa (2014) 4 x NPB All-Star
• Zack Godley (2014)
• Kyle Schwarber (2014)
• Scott Baker (2013)
• Shawn Camp (2013)
• Mark Johnson (2013-14, MGR)
• Ryan Sweeney (2013-14)
• Luis Valbuena (2013)
• Aaron Brooks (2012)
• Yordano Ventura (2011)
• Vance Wilson (2011, MGR)
• Dan Straily (2010)
• Steve Scarsone (2009)
• Tyson Ross (2008) MLB All-StarS
• Jemile Weeks (2008)
• Trevor Cahill (2007) MLB All-Star
• Sean Doolittle (2007) OF to Pitcher; MLB All-Star
• Jeff Gray (2006)
• Vin Mazzaro (2006)
• Anthony Recker (2006)
• Cliff Pennington (2005)
• Ryan Webb (2005)
• Dallas Braden (2004) Perfect Game 5/9/2010
• John Baker (2003)
• Joe Blanton (2003)
• Jared Burton (2003)
• Nelson Cruz (2003) 4 x MLB All-Star; 2011 ALCS MVP; 2014 MLB Home Run Leader
• Andre Ethier (2003) GG; 2 x MLB All-Star
• Adrian Gonzalez (2001) 4 x GG; 5 x MLB All-Star; 2014 NL RBI Leader
• Josh Willingham (2001)
• Josh Beckett (2000) 3 x MLB All-Star; 2003 World Series MVP;2007 ALCS MVP;2007 MLB Wins Leader
• Russ Morman (2000-01, MGR)
• Josh Wilson (2000)
• Nate Robertson (1999-2000)
• Matt Treanor (1999, 2001)
• Claudio Vargas (1999)
• Rick Renteria (1999, MGR) MLB MGR: Chicago Cubs (2014)
• A.J. Burnett (1998) MLB All-Star; 2008 AL Strikeout Leader
• Ross Gload (1998)
• Gary Knotts (1998)
• Michael Tejera (1998)
• Scott Podsednik (1997) MLB All-Star; 2004 NL Stolen Base Leader
• Roosevelt Brown (1996-97)
• Ryan Dempster (1996) 2 x MLB All-Star
• Alex Gonzalez (1996)
• Mark Kotsay (1996) 1995 College World Series Most Outstanding Player
• Randy Winn (1996) MLB All-Star
• Josh Booty (1995-96)
• Luis Castillo (1995) 3 x GG; 3 x MLB All-Star;2 x NL Stolen Base Leader (2000, 2002)
• Ryan Jackson (1995)
• Brian Meadows (1995)
• Antonio Alfonseca (1994) 2000 NL Saves Leader
• Dave Berg (1994)
• Will Cunnane (1994)
• Todd Dunwoody (1994-95)
• Felix Heredia (1994)
• Lynn Jones (1994-97, MGR)
• Kevin Millar (1994)
• Marc Valdes (1994)
• Hector Carrasco (1993)
• Vic Darensbourg (1993)
• Charles Johnson (1993) 4 x GG; 2 x MLB All-Star
• Mike Redmond (1993-94)
• Edgar Renteria (1993) 2 x GG; 5 x MLB All-Star; 2005 World Series MVP
• Tony Saunders (1993)
• Carlos Tosca (1993, MGR) MLB MGR: Toronto Blue Jays (2002-04)
• Curtis Goodwin (1992)
• Jimmy Haynes (1992)
• José Mercedes (1992)
• Alex Ochoa (1992)
• Joel Youngblood (1992, MGR) MLB All-Star
• Joe Borowski (1991)
• Bobby Chouinard (1991-92)
• Tom Martin (1991)
• Brad Pennington (1991)
• Gregg Zaun (1991)

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. http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi
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. "Major League Cougars | Kane County Cougars Roster". Kane County Cougars. Retrieved 2015-10-15.

External links

• Kane County Cougars web site
• The Baseball Cube - Kane County Cougars Historical Statistics