By Woodrow Carroll
Minor league baseball operations always have been a bit tricky. With the headaches related to COVID-19 situations clearly became worse. Many communities across the Nation, and on both sides of the border, have rolled out the red carpet for minor league franchises only to see things go sour.
The success and travails of the Kane County Cougars say plenty about the stability of minor league operations.
The Cougars arrived in Geneva in 1991 as a member of the Class A Midwest League. The franchise already had a lengthy history, having started in Decatur in 1952. In 1975 the franchise left Decatur for Wausau, Wis. to become the Wausau Timbers. Life in central Wisconsin ended after the 1990 season to go to Geneva.
Many observers said the proximity to the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs would doom interest in a minor league team. They were wrong.
Operating as an affiliate of several Major League Baseball organizations through 2020, the Cougars set the standard for franchise success.
The on-field production of the Cougars was usually high quality. In 2001 and 2014 the Cougars laid claim to Midwest League championships. The organization reached its high-water mark in 2001 with a league championship and a record-setting season attendance of 523,222.
The unsteady nature of minor league baseball reared its ugly head after 2020. The Cougars found themselves out of the Midwest League and in the American Association of Professional Baseball.
The American Association is quick to point out that it has a tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It could be pointed out that the American Association is more difficult to keep up with than any guides issued by the IRS.
The American Association is composed of 12 franchises divided into North and South Divisions. The Cougars are in the North Division the Chicago Dogs, Milwaukee Milkman, Gary SouthShore Railcats, Fargo-Moorhead, and Winnipeg.
As is usually the case with minor league baseball, there is a twist along the way. One of the teams in the South Division of the American Association is the Houston Apollos. For this season, the Apollos will be a traveling team because the team’s projected home venue is not completed.
Traveling team status is not new. In 2002, the Gary SouthShore Railcats, in their first year, were strictly on the road. Gary’s home field, the U.S. Steel Yard, was not completed. In fairness to Gary, the franchise, in it 20th season, has proven to be more stable than many minor league operations.
There was a time in the past when the Frontier League was home to the Joliet JackHammers and Schaumburg Flyers. Today Joliet and Schaumberg are a part of the Frontier League, But, not as the JackHammers or Flyers.
The website for the present Joliet club, the Slammers tells us the team was formed ‘after the former franchise, The JackHammers, was crippled by financial issues. What a wonderfully written description.
Joliet had nothing on the Schaumburg Flyers. After the 2010 season, the Flyers were hit with an eviction notice for failure to pay both back taxes and rent on the stadium as well as miscellaneous indebtedness, for want of better terms. The franchise worked its way back to the stadium with financial success.
How does a minor league team such as Joliet or Schaumburg make a go of it? What about the Cougars now that the franchise is no longer a farm club for a Major Baseball League team?
Geneva. Joliet, and Schaumburg have classy ball parks. Winning and losing long has been secondary for most fans to having a good time at games at reasonable prices. More often than not, a good time is assisted with many promotions.
Having a professional baseball team long has been a source of community pride in many places.
Showing a profit is usually another story.