‘This league is about winning’ Kane County Cougars set to begin new era with the American Association of Professional Baseball

GENEVA – Workers sprayed hoses around the Northwestern Medicine Field concourse bleachers. Nearby, concessions began to stock cases of beer.

Brand-new flat screen monitors hung above the primary concession stand behind home plate a few levels above. In the Kane County Cougars clubhouse, a few players were unwinding after a brief workout.

Competitive baseball, finally, was nearing its grand return to Geneva.

Months after a perhaps shocking decision by Major League Baseball to drop the Cougars after nearly 30 years of affiliation with five franchises and a combined 2,134 wins, 17 playoff appearances and two Midwestern League championships, the Cougars entered a new era as a member of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

The journey, after numerous weeks of shifting and evolving practically every aspect of its previous business model, officially began May 18 with Opening Day against the Chicago Dogs.

“We’re still the Kane County Cougars,” Vice President and General Manager Curtis Haug said. “We’re still going to provide that great family G-rated entertainment that’s affordable [and] that’s convenient.

“We’re still going to have the fun promotions between innings. We’re still going to have the postgame fireworks, the bobbleheads and the great food and the cold beer and the KidZone,” Haug continued. “It’s still going to be the same Cougars baseball, with obviously some new twists.”

Adjusting to the AAPB

The Cougars were announced as the newest member of the American Association of Professional Baseball in February. The American Association was founded in 2005, a combination of former members of the Northern and Central leagues. In fall 2020, the American Association became a partner league with Major League Baseball.

As a former major league affiliate with the Arizona Diamondbacks, it’s a whole new ballgame for the Cougars.

The Cougars are no longer being told what their roster will consist of by the Diamondbacks or another MLB franchise. The Cougars have signed their own players, coaches, athletic training staff and field staff.

“We’ve got to hire them. We have to pay their salaries, pay their worker’s comp insurance – pretty much everything,” Haug said. “In the past, that was all handled by the Diamondbacks. And now that’s our responsibility.

“Everything from team travel, hotels, pregame and postgame meals, the bats, the balls, the pine tar – you name it – it’s all our responsibility now and it’s all our bill as far as our expense goes moving forward,” Haug continued. “It’s something in the past where 90% of that was taken care of by the Diamondbacks or the Cubs or the Royals or whoever we were affiliated with.”

Haug’s workday consists of numerous meetings and phone calls while overseeing the entire operation.

“Thank God I have a great staff of people that makes the whole organization look good,” Haug said. “We have great staff, and we have great ownership. ... The sponsors have been so supportive, the vendors, the fans, everyone’s been very understanding and helpful getting us through this.”

The AAPB has protocols and policies – COVID-19, umpires, media relations, social media and broadcasting – the Cougars have to adhere to, but “pretty much they let us do our own thing.”

“Of course, there’s certain things that we have to abide by when it comes to league rules, and so far, so good,” Haug said. “With the season right around the corner, we’re looking forward to getting things underway.”

Health and safety protocols

Due to newly-issued guidance on Thursday from the Center for Disease Control for vaccinated individuals from COVID-19, specific details and policies on fan attendance, mask requirements and more from the Cougars are pending.

Player signings

Cougars manager George Tsamis, who spent 18 seasons with the St. Paul Saints, is in charge of constructing the Cougars’ roster in addition to on-field managing.

“It’s a competitive process trying to sign players,” Tsamis said. “You’re looking for minor league free agents. This league is really good. There are many Triple-A [and] Double-A guys in this league. Guys that have played in the big leagues [and] you have A ball guys and even guys out of college. It ranges from big league guys to younger guys.”

“Some of the pieces of the puzzle like the athletic training, the clubhouse manager, things like that we’ve handled internally,” Haug said. “But George has been the guy putting the roster together. He’s been a real blessing when it comes to that.”

The 2021 season has presented a unique challenge for all franchises.

“Normally, every single year at the end of March after those releases from spring training, there’s usually 400 [to] 500 guys released,” Tsamis said. “That’s when you get a lot of your players. This year, with everything that’s gone on with COVID, there [has] not been that wave of 400 to 500 releases. There were maybe 50.”

Teams within the AAPB, other independent leagues and even major league franchises are all fishing from the same talent pool.

“It’s like college recruiting. You’re going after the same players,” Tsamis said. “You want to show to the player why Kane County is the best place to come.

“In some cases, it’s you reaching out to agents to see what they have available [or] agents reaching out to you,” Tsamis continued. “Maybe there will be a player that got released from Triple-A, and it’s your job to have good relationships with agents and scouts. ... You just try to get the best fit in there.”

Winning – not player development – is king. That will be a change from the Cougars’ previous affiliation with MLB.

“This league is about winning. That’s what it’s about,” Tsamis said. “It’s not about player development. It’s about winning. We try to bring guys here [that] their goal is to get back to a major league organization and get to the big leagues. ... When you get those kind of guys, they’re the same kind of guys that are out here trying to win games.”

In the past week, seven players, including four pitchers, were signed. The 22-man roster includes former Major League Baseball pitcher Vance Worley. The 33-year-old Worley pitched for five major league teams from 2010-2017. He last pitched in the majors for the Miami Marlins.

The Cougars on May 14 announced the signing of Kacy Clemens, the son of former MLB star Roger Clemens.

Roster construction remains a fluid process.

“Currently, we feel we have a solid group of position players,” Tsamis said. “We did sign a big Triple-A power hitter [Anthony Garcia], I would say a month ago, but then recently we lost him to Mexico. That happens. You lose guys to Mexico. You’re going to have guys [signed by] major league organizations, and when that happens, it’s my job to try and get the best guys in here to replace them.”

Tsamis explained a rule within the AAPB for roster construction.

“You can only carry five veterans. Five veterans are guys that have played six or more years [total in the minors and majors],” Tsamis said. “You can have five veterans, and you have to carry five rookies as well.

“I understand why [AAPB] does it. It’s a good thing the way they do it,” Tsamis continued. “They want to have some young talent in the league and some experienced guys in the league and mesh them together. They just don’t want to have a league of a bunch of older guys. They want to have some young guys as well.”

Worley is a “perfect example” of the type of player the Cougars covet. He went 35-36 with a 4.09 ERA in eight seasons in the big leagues, and finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2011 while with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“He’s missed the last couple years here because he had an injury, but talking to him, he has the right attitude,” Tsamis said. “His goal is to get back to the major leagues. He’s going to come here, get on the mound ... he wants to win. He says the right things. He’s going to be a really good teammate and do what it takes to help us win games.”

Food and beverage

The Cougars will have familiar fan favorite food options back: Dippin’ Dots, lemon chills, funnel cakes, churros and more, said Doug Clements, the new director of food and beverage.

Outside the Cougars concession stands will be new TV monitors that feature menu options. Fans will have the ability to use chip-inserted credit cards and touchless payments, including Apple and Samsung Pay.

“If they don’t know it, [fans are] going to appreciate the ease of use of the new register system,” Clements said. “All the registers throughout the whole stadium have been updated. ... It’s going to cut down on lines.”

The Cougars started a partnership with Fan Food, an app that provides in-venue food and beverage mobile ordering. Fans will be able to view the concession stand menu from their phone, order and pay on their device. A text will alert fans when an order is ready for pickup from two designated concession pickup lanes.

“Guest safety and convenience are the top priority for us as we return to hosting fans at our ballpark,” said Douglas Czurylo, the organization’s Senior Director of Finance and Administration in a news release. “Contactless transactions through FanFood will enable our fans to skip the concession line, enjoy more Cougars baseball and share even more memorable moments with their family and friends at our events.”

Fans will find a newly improved Mexican food-specific stand – taco salads, burritos, street tacos, frozen margaritas – and more on the third-base side of the concourse.

Clements said Ream’s Meat Market in Elburn is a new partner and they’ll be taking over a stand that will feature cheese curd brats, beer brats, polish sausage and more.

For beer enthusiasts, the Cougars will have their “beer cave” back this season. It’ll feature 25 craft brew selections to start the season. The Cougars will have Tangled Roots Brewery Co., an Ottawa-based brewery, and DogFish Head Craft brews as new sponsors.

There also will be food options for vegan and vegetarian fans, including Beyond Meat vegan burgers, veggie burgers, turkey burgers and gluten-free buns.

Media and how to watch/listen

The Cougars are venturing into a new era for how fans can watch and listen to each and every game.

After several years of broadcasting on WBIG 1280-AM in Aurora, the Cougars are moving broadcasting in-house and will not be on terrestrial radio.

Games will be livestreamed in a TV-style broadcast on the AAPB streaming platform, AAbaseball.tv. Subscriptions cost $12.99 a month.

Play-by-play voice Joe Brand, who handled that role on the radio broadcast, returns to the booth. Brand will be the lone voice for the streamed TV broadcast.

The in-house broadcast team will consist of four camera operators and about 10 to 12 people for each broadcast.

“We feel like we’re going to have a really nice presentation when it comes to that,” Haug said. “We want to put together the best possible broadcast we can. We want to be the best broadcast presentation in the whole league. That’s our goal. With Joe, I think we can do it.”