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Kane County Cougars lose their major league affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks and now plan to join one of MLB’s ‘partner leagues’
The 120 teams that Major League Baseball is inviting to be affiliated with major league teams in the revamped minor league system were announced Wednesday.
The Cougars have been affiliated with six different MLB teams over their 30-year existence. That arrangement is now over and the Cougars are planning on joining one of MLB’s new “partner leagues” for the 2021 season.
“I don’t think that this is a huge surprise to us,” Cougars Vice President and General Manager Curtis Haug said. “We did hear some rumors. The fact is that the Cougars aren’t going away. We’re still going to have a fun season and do the same things we’ve done all the years prior, provide affordable, convenient family entertainment.”
The Cougars began Midwest League play in Geneva in 1991 when the franchise moved from Wausau, Wisconsin. They have been in the top three in the Midwest League in attendance every season but one in their existence.
“At this point, we’re not sure where we’re going to end up,” Haug said. “There are still a lot of options open. The baseball landscape has changed quite a bit. There’s not a hard line between affiliated baseball and independent baseball anymore. There will be a lot of partner leagues, some existing and some new. We’ll take a look at all of them and make a decision.”
As part of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s One Baseball plan, leagues like the American Association, which features the Chicago Dogs, and the Frontier League, featuring local teams Joliet, Schaumburg and Windy City, will now be partnering with MLB. Those leagues are among the options the Cougars will consider.
Those leagues used to be independent. Now, they will have the opportunity to use MLB’s marketing strategy and there will be an orderly system for transferring players to MLB organizations.
“This will be a real partnership with MLB,” Haug said. “The independent term is going to go away. We’re still going to be underneath the MLB umbrella, and that’s important.”
Also, with over 40 minor league teams being cut from affiliated baseball and the MLB draft being cut from 40 rounds to 20 rounds or less, there will be more talent to choose from in the partner leagues.
“Now that we know what’s going on we’ll look into our options and see which league makes the most sense,” Haug said. “I think that our history and what we’ve done the past 30 years is a big positive. I think any league we get into we would be considered one of the top teams.”
“Our fan base, for the most part, comes here for the entertainment and the fun environment,” Haug said. “We’re going to continue to provide that. The bottom line is that we’re still going to be the Cougars.”
“We just ask our fans to stay tuned,” Haug said. “We’re sure we’ll have something to announce in regards to our situation soon. There is going to be a 2021 season and we have to start moving in that direction.”
The Cougars lose their MLB affiliation but will still be "under the umbrella of the MLB"? No idea what that means, but at least the exploitation of foreigners will continue unabated.
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