Two more visits in late July prior to a sportsless cruise vacation…the Kane County Cougars and the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Kane County Cougars
The Cougars were one of the first, if not the first minor league franchise to start up in an area with Major League Baseball – in the case of the Cougars two MLB teams (OK, right now the White Sox don’t really qualify, but the Cougars launched in the early 1990’s…). They play in Geneva, IL which is about 40 miles from Chicago, and, coincidentally, is where I grew up through my high school years. I was living outside the Chicago area when the Cougars launched and remember telling my parents who still lived in Geneva at the time, “this will never work.” OH….how wrong I was.
The Cougars definitely found the niche – lower-prices, a push to families and groups that would not want to take a long drive into the city for a game. Over the years, they expanded their stadium (now called Northwestern Medicine Field) with a second level with suites. They have continued to successfully exploit the niche and appear to be very viable even as so many others have jumped into the Minor League fray in the Chicago area.
The Cougars were an affiliated team in the Midwest League for much of their history. However, when MLB did their “streamlining” a few years ago, the Cougars were bounced…the story I heard was a desire to invest more in fan-impacting facilities than player development. So, the Cougars were briefly a free agent and landed in the American Association, where they lead in attendance and seem to be a great fit.
My good friend Gregg and I drove out on a Sunday afternoon – it was a little steamy, but MANY visits have taught me where the nice shady seats are and we enjoyed the Cougars vs. those Cleburne, Texas folks…
The wind was blowing out, and the Cougars put a LOT of runs on the board, highlighted by a 12-run 4th inning that the scoreboard couldn’t handle – they flashed 1 and 2 in the line score for the rest of the game.
Gregg is even more of a beer aficionado than I am and we both enjoyed the products of 93 Octane Brewing, a small brewery in neighboring St. Charles that took over the taps from Tangled Root Brewing.
Shout out on Sunday Funday Concession cash – purchasing tickets at least a few days before the game gave us $15 per ticket in concession vouchers. Nice promo!
But – ouch the parking! $10 for regular, $15 for preferred? With comparable ticket prices, it definitely makes a difference for smaller parties vs. their competing options.
Still, it was a two-touchdown 20-6 win for the Cougars and a nice day at a still well-maintained stadium!
West Michigan Whitecaps
Scheduling around some commitments, weather, and our upcoming vacation led me to Friday night drive around Lake Michigan to the Grand Rapids, MI area. For those not familiar, the drive out of or into Chicago through the northwest corner of Indiana and up into Michigan is, well, a slice of hell almost any time. A summer Friday leaving Chicago – where over recent years, many Chicago area residents have gotten second homes in southwest Michigan is (fill in your preferred method of torture).
Still, I slogged my way there for an absolutely picture-perfect night as the Whitecaps hosted their neighbors and rivals the Lansing Lugnuts. They are in the Midwest League – the Whitecaps are a Detroit Tiger farm team (more below) while the Lugnuts wear the white shoes of their parents the Something-Other-Than-Oakland A’s.
This was only my second visit to the Whitecaps stadium, now called LMCU Ballpark. It is one of the largest stadiums in the Midwest League (second only to Dayton) and was well-populated on a Friday night – lots of groups in areas like the Stadium Club and Founders Brewing patio, and what clearly was a corporate group one section over from me (nothing like nametags to give it away).
Some other notes:
- They hit the Tiger relationship hard. It is the 40th anniversary of the Tigers last World Series championship in 1984 – I was living in the Detroit area at the time and have good memories of it, They had some of the ’84 Tiger players at a game earlier in the week, and even have their Craft Cave beer sponsors, Mitten Brewing lined up with a beer called the Pour of ’84 (a play on the Roar of ’84 which was a theme…)
- They are noted for slightly crazed concession items, including the Frycuterie which was multiple forms of fried potatoes and cheese and other not-so-healthy dips. I could not find a calorie count. I stuck with chicken tenders and fries…loved the waffle fries but need more sauce options!
- Shout out to someone in my section with a 1992 Ric Flair – Macho Man Randy Savage t-shirt.
- Like many places, they had a bubble brawl between innings where two people get into those inflatable bubbles and try to push each other over. In other places, I have seen them take maybe five steps in run up. Here they start at opposing foul lines and meet in centerfield, resulting in the loser doing multiple backflips. My attorneys are hoping people are signing releases…
- I love the acknowledgement of the native son…an upcoming bobblehead celebrating the 50th anniversary of Gerald Ford assuming the presidency.
- And finally, one of the best 7th inning stretches I have seen in a while – an A Capella version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame (with our in-game host who actually had a great singing voice) followed by Cotton Eyed Joe with mascots and others leading the dancing on the dugouts (and even the stadium lights flashing along). Well done, Whitecaps!
Although it fell apart on the Whitecaps as the Lugnuts scored 5 runs in the 8th and won 8-5, it was a nice overnight trip, and a much easier drive back home on Saturday morning.