Kane Co. Cougars Become a Royals Affiliate

[Hitmen77]

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/b...092210.article

I didn't realize the Cougars have been affiliated with the A's for 8 years already. I remember them mostly for being a Marlins affiliate and I thought the switch to the A's was more recent.

So, after 18 years with two teams that have been great at developing minor league talent, they switching to the Kansas City Royals.

This article makes it sound like the Cougars were wowed by their meeting with the Royals. Hmmmm.....unless KC is revamping their farm system, I wouldn't have thought of them as being a better developer of talent that Oakland.

[DirtySox]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

Hmmmm.....unless KC is revamping their farm system, I wouldn't have thought of them as being a better developer of talent that Oakland.

I'm not sure if they are or are not better "developers" of talent then Oakland, but currently the KC farm system is probably the best in baseball. They amount of talent they have from top to bottom is ridiculous.

[LongLiveFisk]

No kidding? Wow, that's interesting.

I go to a few KC Cougars games a year. I guess now the "KC" moniker fits a little more.

(Note: I wish they were the White Sox affiliate. Would be nice to have one close to home!)

[ChiSoxGal85]

Originally Posted by LongLiveFisk

No kidding? Wow, that's interesting.

I go to a few KC Cougars games a year. I guess now the "KC" moniker fits a little more.

(Note: I wish they were the White Sox affiliate. Would be nice to have one close to home!)

Hey, I didn't catch the KC moniker. Good one!!

Love going to Cougars games when I can. It will be interesting to see the Royals farm system in action. If the Cougars ever became the Sox affiliate, I'd have season tickets. My son plays ball in the local summer Colt league; at the end of summer season they play a game at Cougar's stadium. What a neat experience for the boys. It wasn't that long ago when he looked so little on that huge field ...this year, he hit one that rolled to the wall. I felt so old.

<Kinda off topic...It's ironic that my daughter is probably going to go to college at Bradley in Peoria...aaack, Cubs affiliate territory!! But she has already proudly and defiantly declared her allegiance to the Sox to anyone at Bradley who cares...that's my girl. sorry for the hijack.>

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxGal85

<Kinda off topic...It's ironic that my daughter is probably going to go to college at Bradley in Peoria...aaack, Cubs affiliate territory!! But she has already proudly and defiantly declared her allegiance to the Sox to anyone at Bradley who cares...that's my girl. sorry for the hijack.>

As a Bradley alum, I can assure you the Peoria area needs all the White Sox love it can get.

[The Immigrant]

Originally Posted by LongLiveFisk

(Note: I wish they were the White Sox affiliate. Would be nice to have one close to home!)

That would seem to be an effective way to build support for the big league club in Chicagoland, but what do I know.

[ewokpelts]

way to go white sox. a LOCAL affiliated minor league team was looking for a new parent club, and you didnt even try.

typical sox bull****.

[doublem23]

Would anyone actually give a **** if the Cougars were a Sox farm team? I guess it would help Kane County, as more fans would probably truck out there to see some low-A ball Sox players but does anyone actually think it would have any real effect on the Sox? Unless of course whatever town they actually play in is some sort of Midwest hotstpot of Oakland A's fans.

[downstairs]

Originally Posted by LongLiveFisk

(Note: I wish they were the White Sox affiliate. Would be nice to have one close to home!)

I've always been curious why minor league teams near cities with MLB teams don't more often align with them. Seems better for business?

I understand totally why many minor league teams want to be in cities far away from MLB teams. The New Orleans Zephyrs are pretty popular down here because there's no other baseball.

[Hitmen77]

Originally Posted by DirtySox

I'm not sure if they are or are not better "developers" of talent then Oakland, but currently the KC farm system is probably the best in baseball. They amount of talent they have from top to bottom is ridiculous.

Interesting. Is this a recent development that we haven't seen reach the MLB level yet? Or are they just not as successful in getting these guys beyond the minors?

[DirtySox]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

Interesting. Is this a recent development that we haven't seen reach the MLB level yet? Or are they just not as successful in getting these guys beyond the minors?

Actually yes, it is a recent development. This year so many of their prospects have had huge breakout seasons. They were probably a middle of the road farm system until this year. This obviously doesn't necessitate a great farm system moving forward, but currently the talent is abundant. We should be seeing Moose and Hosmer in KC in the not too distant future.

Lamb, Dwyer, Colon, Duffy, Montgomery, and Myers are also very good/great prospects. I also haven't given up on Crow just yet, despite his struggles. There was a somewhat recent thread discussing the Royals breakout farm system but I can't seem to find it right now.

[MeteorsSox4367]

Originally Posted by Hitmen77

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/b...092210.article

I didn't realize the Cougars have been affiliated with the A's for 8 years already. I remember them mostly for being a Marlins affiliate and I thought the switch to the A's was more recent.

So, after 18 years with two teams that have been great at developing minor league talent, they switching to the Kansas City Royals.

IIRC, didn't the Cougars start out as an Orioles' affiliate? I thought it was O's, Marlins and A's.

Either way, not a bad place to watch a game. I was out there this summer for the first time in a few years and the changes they made were pretty nice.

[Hitmen77]

I'd be happy with at least the Sox returning to having an affiliate somewhere in the Midwest League. I'm not expecting it to be Kane County, but it would be nice to have a chance to see Sox prospects play nearby (even as the visiting team).

....but, then again, given the state of the Sox farm system, maybe I'm not missing much.

Originally Posted by MeteorsSox4367

IIRC, didn't the Cougars start out as an Orioles' affiliate? I thought it was O's, Marlins and A's.

Either way, not a bad place to watch a game. I was out there this summer for the first time in a few years and the changes they made were pretty nice.

Yes, they started out as an Orioles affiliate. But that was only for the first couple of years of their existence in the early 90s. Most of their history (18 years) has been with the Marlins and A's.

I don't know as much about players coming through the A's system, but with the Marlins ability to churn out talent, there have been quite a few future big league stars that once played for the Cougars.

A few years ago, the Cougars had signs that displayed the big league players that used to play for them. Miguel Cabrera, Josh Beckett....and Scott Podsednik too.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by MeteorsSox4367

IIRC, didn't the Cougars start out as an Orioles' affiliate? I thought it was O's, Marlins and A's.

Either way, not a bad place to watch a game. I was out there this summer for the first time in a few years and the changes they made were pretty nice.

That's correct. The Cougars started in 1991 as an affiliate of the Orioles. In 1993, they switched to the Marlins and were affiliated with them for 10 years. The last eight seasons, they've been with the A's.

Elfstrom Stadium is about a 10-minute drive from my apartment. I don't go frequently because, well, I'm not that interested in watching Oakland prospects. It's too bad the Sox don't have an affiliate in the Midwest League, because I would go to a Cougars game if I had the opportunity to see Sox prospects.

In any case, the Cougars draw very, very well. They've done a good job of marketing and making that stadium a place for affordable family entertainment. For most of the people in attendance at those games, they don't really care whether the Cougars win or lose or who the players are. It's a place to take the kiddies on a summer night. The Cougars understand that and have tapped into that market very well. The recent stadium renovation was well done also.