Kane County Cougars

Kane County Cougars Founded in 1991 Geneva, Illinois
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
Single-A
Minor League affiliations
Midwest League Western Division
Major League affiliations
Oakland Athletics (2003-Present) Florida Marlins (1993-2002) Baltimore Orioles (1991-1992)
Name
Kane County Cougars
Ballpark
Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium
Minor League titles
League titles	2001
Division titles	2001, 2004
Owner(s)/Operated by:
Manager: Aaron Nieckula
General Manager: Jeff Sedivy

The Kane County Cougars are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played in Geneva, Illinois, about 35 miles west of Chicago.

The Midwest League came to Kane County in 1991 after a franchise that was previously based in Decatur, Illinois (1952-74) and Wausau, Wisconsin (1975-90) relocated there. While they've always been known as the Cougars since moving to Kane County, they were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 and 1992 and with the Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2002 before joining the A's for the 2003 season. 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. 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 Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium, built in 1991. The franchise attendance record of 523,222 was set in 2001. The Cougars are perennially among the league leaders in attendance. And after each^{[citation needed]} Cougar's home game, a loaf of Sara Lee bread is given to each exiting fan.

In 2007, the Cougars featured players such as Mike Massaro, Jermaine Mitchell, Sean Doolitle, Scott Deal, and Henry Rodriguez.

Notable former players

• Scott Podsednik
• Antonio Alfonseca
• Denny Bautista
• Joe Borowski
• Dallas Braden
• A.J. Burnett
• Miguel Cabrera
• Luis Castillo
• Ryan Dempster
• Jairo Garcia
• Adrian Gonzalez
• Alex Gonzalez
• Felix Heredia
• Charles Johnson
• Mark Kotsay
• Scott McClain
• Kevin Millar
• Alex Ochoa
• Brad Pennington

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

• Danny Putnam
• Huston Street
• Edgar Renteria
• Nate Robertson
• Matt Treanor
• Claudio Vargas
• Josh Willingham
• Dontrelle Willis
• Josh Wilson
• Randy Winn
• Gregg Zaun

References

• Dinda, J. (2003), "Geneva, Illinois, in the Midwest League," http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/geneva/index.html

External links

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

	Sports teams based in & around Chicago
Soccer	MLS: Chicago Fire, PDL: Chicago Fire Premier, MISL: Chicago Storm
Baseball	MLB: Chicago Cubs • Chicago White Sox, FL: Windy City ThunderBolts, MWL: Kane County Cougars, NL: Gary SouthShore RailCats • Joliet JackHammers • Schaumburg Flyers
Softball	NPF: Chicago Bandits
Basketball	NBA: Chicago Bulls , WNBA: Chicago Sky, ABA: Cometas de Cicero • Chicago Throwbacks, IBL: Chicago Heights Soldiers • Elgin Racers, USBL: Gary Steelheads
Football	NFL: Chicago Bears, AFL: Chicago Rush, CIFL: Chicago Slaughter
Hockey	NHL: Chicago Blackhawks, AHL: Chicago Wolves, USHL: Chicago Steel
Rugby	RSL: Chicago Lions RFC • Chicago Griffins RFC
Lacrosse	MLL: Chicago Machine, NLL: Chicago Shamrox
College athletics (NCAA Division I)	Chicago State University • DePaul University • Loyola University Chicago • Northern Illinois University • Northwestern University • University of Illinois at Chicago • Valparaiso University

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