2021 Kane County Cougars Season Recap
September 23, 2021 - American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
Kane County Cougars outfielder Anfernee Seymour
(Kane County Cougars, Credit: Brad Repplinger)
GENEVA, Ill. - After over a year without Kane County Cougars baseball, the Cougars were thrilled to welcome fans back to Northwestern Medicine Field for the 2021 season. The Cougars would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who made this season possible.
On April 15, the Cougars debuted a new primary logo to celebrate the overall franchise history dating back to 1888 and honor the franchise's former teams, the Decatur Commodores and the Wausau Timbers. This season marked the 30th season in 31 years of baseball in Kane County. Take a glance at the 2021 numbers and milestones for your Kane County Cougars...
1st (season)
The Cougars completed their first season as an MLB Partner League team in the American Association of Professional Baseball. Starting in a new league meant building an entirely new team, beginning with Manager George Tsamis. Tsamis had recently completed 18 seasons as the Manager of the St. Paul Saints in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Cougars finished fifth overall in the American Association North Division.
4 (Cougars contracts transferred)
Four Cougars had their contracts transferred to Major League Baseball organizations this season, including right-handed pitcher Tyler Viza, right-handed pitcher Vance Worley, infielder Galli Cribbs Jr. and infielder Sherman Johnson. All four players moved to the Triple-A level for their respective clubs.
2nd (MLB Partner League attendance)
The Cougars finished second among the 41 MLB Partner League teams in average attendance. The only MLB Partner League team with better average attendance was the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.
3,554 (average attendance)
The Cougars led the American Association in attendance this season, averaging a total of 3,554 fans per game at Northwestern Medicine Field. On Saturday, August 7 the Cougars reached a total of 8,415 people in attendance, the biggest crowd all season.
2,140 (Cougar wins)
After finishing the season with a 44-55 overall record, the Cougars now have 2,140 total wins in the regular season since the team debuted in Kane County in 1991.
3.05 (ERA)
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Viza finished with a 3.05 ERA while playing for the Cougars this season. In the month of July, Viza was named Rawlings Pitcher of the Month after striking out 53 batters and walking seven in 42.2 innings pitched. During the week of July 26, Viza was named the Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week after he started in two games, threw one complete game and only allowed one run in 16 innings pitched, plus 18 strikeouts and a .056 ERA. Viza finished second in the American Association with a 3.05 ERA.
121 (K's)
Left-handed pitcher Josh Tols threw 121 strikeouts in 122 innings pitched this season, which put him fourth overall in strikeouts in the American Association. Tols started in 20 games for the Cougars this season with a 4.28 ERA.
4 (Atomic Pork Chops)
The Atomic Pork Chops made their return to Northwestern Medicine Field a total of four times throughout the season. Appearing on June 6, July 24, August 14 and September 3, the Cougars alter ego finished with a 2-2 record, all while serving up delicious pork chop sandwiches with a variety of sauces. The Atomic Pork Chops are expected to return in 2022.
3 (fan experiences)
The Cougars added new fan experiences at Northwestern Medicine Field to give fans a close-up experience of all the excitement happening around the ballpark. These experiences included being the guest Public Address Announcer for an inning, shagging balls at Cougars batting practice and serving as the batboy or batgirl for a game.
462,000 (views)
A new milestone was reached this season on a new platform, the Kane County Cougars official Flickr page. The Flickr page was started this season with a purpose in mind for all fans, players and their families to be able to access and download photos from Cougars games for free. Thanks to our photographers this season, the Cougars reached a whopping 462,000 views on Flickr, with the number growing daily.
7,853 / 15,434 (followers)
The Cougars Instagram gained over 1,200 followers since the end of the 2019 season, while the Cougars Twitter followers increased by over 270.
500 (home runs)
On August 22, former Cougar Miguel Cabrera reached a major milestone, hitting his 500th home run of his major league career. Cabrera played for the Cougars in 2001 when they were affiliated with the Florida Marlins. Cabrera is currently a first basemen for the Detroit Tigers and has hit a total of 15 home runs this season, totaling 502 in his career.
43,493 (beers sold)
For all Thursday's during the season and some Friday's, the Cougars offer a Thirsty Thursday and Finally Friday promotion. The promotion offers $2 domestic beers, $2 hot dogs and $2 sodas. Out of the eight Thirsty Thursdays and four Finally Friday's this season, the Cougars sold 43,493 beers.
27,931 (hot dogs sold)
Along with the 43,493 beers that were sold on all Thirsty Thursday and Finally Fridays, 27,931 hot dogs were sold.
4,706 (baseballs)
The Cougars went through a total of 4,706 baseballs at home games this season.
17,500 (outside events attendance)
The Cougars hosted a handful of outside events on non-game days in 2021, totaling 17,500 people in overall attendance. Some of the biggest events at Northwestern Medicine Field this year was the Geneva High School graduation, LOVV Dance Studio recital, Lauren Underwood Town Hall meeting, Chapel Street Church service, Swedish Days Dala Palooza concert, the Stance Down Low car show and numerous high school and college baseball games.
For more information about the Cougars overall franchise history, visit kccougars.com/team-history.
Images from this story
 Kane County Cougars Manager George Tsamis (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars pitcher Vance Worley (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars fans enjoy a game (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars pitcher Christian DeLeon signs autographs for fans in the lawn area (Sarah Smith) |
 Kane County Cougars celebrate after a walk-off victory on August 7 (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars pitcher Tyler Viza (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars pitcher Josh Tols (Sarah Smith) |
 Kane County Cougars' Atomic Pork Chops logo (Brad Repplinger) |
 Kane County Cougars mascots Ozzie and Annie T. Cougar (Sarah Smith) |
 Kane County Cougars outfielder Anfernee Seymour (Brad Repplinger) |
• Discuss this story on the American Association message board...
American Association Stories from September 23, 2021
- Hound #1: Very first player is officially on the roster - Lake Country DockHounds
- 2021 Kane County Cougars Season Recap - Kane County Cougars
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
