Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, 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, 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 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 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.

The stand-out contributor to the 2006 Cougars' offense was third baseman Jeff Baisley. The 6'3" Baisley was the league MVP in 2006, driving in 110 runs and hitting 22 homers. His most notable performance, however, was a game when he hit three home runs. His last was postponed during an umpire discussion on the eligibility of the home run that hit the scoreboard. He was allowed the homer.