Chicagoland is a hotbed for independent-league baseball, so the Cubs and White Sox aren’t the only pros in town
Starting next month, Chicagoland residents will have a variety of options to catch live professional baseball without having to make a trip to Wrigley Field or Guaranteed Rate Field.
To be sure, an outing on the North Side or South Side for big-league baseball is a Chicago summertime staple, and it always will be.
But Chicagoland is also home to a number of pro teams that compete in independent baseball leagues.
And generally speaking, it’s much cheaper to attend an independent-league game than a Cubs or White Sox game, with far less traffic to battle and much smaller crowds to navigate.
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Check out this WGN-TV feature from last summer about the Chicago Dogs, an independent-league team that plays in Rosemont, below:
What is independent baseball?
Independent baseball has a long tradition in the United States and Canada, stretching back to the early 1900s. Various leagues and teams have come and gone, but it’s still going strong today, with nine leagues and 83 teams operating in 2024, according to independentbaseball.net.
Independent baseball is considered professional. However, independent leagues have no affiliation with Major League Baseball or its Minor League Baseball system.
Some are considered official Partners of Major League Baseball. This means that while none of the teams in such leagues are affiliated with an MLB franchise, any MLB club can sign players from those leagues and put them into their own affiliated systems.
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Independent baseball organizations have rostered many players who went on to reach the big leagues over the years. In some cases, notable players have joined independent teams while either trying to make a career comeback or just to finish out their playing days, giving local fans a chance to see some of the all-time greats in their twilight years, playing just for the love of the game.
Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, for example, played three seasons of independent ball at the end of his playing career, when he was in his mid-40s. Leon Durham, a staple in Cubs lineups during the 1980s who made two National League All-Star teams with the North Siders, played independent ball in 1993 and 1994.
More recently, Daniel Murphy, a three-time NL All-Star infielder who spent part of 2018 with the Cubs, played for Long Island of the independent Atlantic League in 2023.
Another former independent-league name might be familiar to White Sox fans who follow prospects.
The team selected outfielder Jared Mitchell from LSU in the first round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. Alas, derailed by injuries, Mitchell never made it to the big leagues. He got as far as Triple-A, then spent parts of seven seasons in independent leagues from 2016-22.
The player drafted just two spots behind Mitchell in 2009? Mike Trout.
But not to pick on Mitchell. After hanging up his cleats, he joined ESPN, where he’s now a college baseball analyst for SEC games.
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Independent baseball in Chicagoland
Right now, there are six independent teams based in Chicagoland, three in the American Association of Professional Baseball and three in the Frontier League.
Both leagues are official Partners of Major League Baseball, and they begin their 2024 seasons in the middle of next month.
Here is some information on Chicagoland’s six independent baseball teams:
CHICAGO DOGS
League: American Association of Professional Baseball
Division: East
Home ballpark: Impact Field (9850 Balmoral Avenue, Rosemont; capacity: 6,300)
Founded: 2018
Home opener: Friday, May 10, vs. Gary SouthShore RailCats (6:30 p.m.)
Website/ticket info: thechicagodogs.com
FYI: Named after the famous Chicago hot dog, the Dogs’ logo features the colors and stars of the Chicago flag.
GARY SOUTHSHORE RAILCATS
League: American Association of Professional Baseball
Division: East
Home ballpark: U.S. Steel Yard (One Stadium Plaza, Gary, Ind.; capacity: 6,139)
Founded: 2001
Home opener: Friday, May 17, vs. Lake Country DockHounds (6:45 p.m.)
Website/ticket info: railcatsbaseball.com
FYI: The RailCats have won two league championships, one in 2007 when they were in the Northern League and one in 2013 in their current league.
KANE COUNTY COUGARS
League: American Association of Professional Baseball
Division: East
Home ballpark: Northwestern Medicine Field (34w002 Cherry Lane, Geneva; capacity: 10,923)
Founded: 1991
Home opener: Tuesday, May 14, vs. Sioux Falls Canaries (11:30 a.m.)
Website/ticket info: kccougars.com
FYI: The Cougars first moved to Kane County in 1991, coming from Wausau, Wisconsin, as a Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the Midwest League. The Cougars were a Single-A affiliate of the Cubs from 2013-14. Willson Contreras, Albert Almora, Jeimer Candelario, Felix Pena, Gerardo Concepcion and Rob Zastryzny, all members of the 2016 World Series champion Cubs at one point that season, played at Kane County in the minors. The Cougars moved to independent baseball prior to the 2021 season and have led their league in attendance since joining.
JOLIET SLAMMERS
League: Frontier
Division: West
Home ballpark: Duly Health and Care Field (1 Mayor Art Schultz Drive, Joliet; capacity: 6,016)
Founded: 2010
Home opener: Friday, May 10, vs. Evansville Otters
Website/ticket info: jolietslammers.com
FYI: The Slammers won the Frontier League championship in 2011, their first season, and accomplished the feat again in 2018.
SCHAUMBURG BOOMERS
League: Frontier
Division: West
Home ballpark: Wintrust Field (1999 South Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg; capacity: 7,365)
Founded: 2011
Home opener: Monday, May 13, vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (6:30 p.m.)
Website/ticket info: boomersbaseball.com
FYI: The Boomers have won four Frontier League championships, most in league history. All have come since 2013, when they won the first of back-to-back titles. Their last was in 2021.
WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS
League: Frontier
Division: West
Home ballpark: Ozinga Field (14011 South Kenton Avenue, Crestwood; capacity: 3,200)
Founded: 1995
Home opener: Thursday, May 9, vs. Evansville Otters (6:35 p.m.)
Website/ticket info: wcthunderbolts.com
FYI: The franchise has existed since 1995 and was first known as the Cook County Cheetahs. They joined the Frontier League in 1999 and were renamed the Windy City ThunderBolts in 2004. The team won the Heartland League championship as the Cheetahs in 1998 and back-to-back Frontier League titles as the ThunderBolts in 2007-08.
The Frontier League also has another team from Illinois in its West Division, the Gateway Grizzlies, who play in Sauget in the southwestern part of the state, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
Visit frontierleague.com for more information on the Frontier League. Visit aabaseball.com for more information on the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Other teams
As far as minor-league teams with an affiliation to a parent MLB club, there are currently no franchises located in Chicagoland.
However, there are some nearby.
Downstate, the Peoria Chiefs operate currently as the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. To the southwest, the Quad Cities River Bandits play their home games just over the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa. The River Bandits are the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
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And Cubs fans often enjoy making relatively short drives for a summertime trip to see one of the team’s minor-league affiliates.
The Iowa Cubs, the team’s Triple-A affiliate — meaning its players are just a step from the majors — play in Des Moines. The South Bend Cubs, the team’s High-A affiliate, play in South Bend, Ind.
Not far north, just over the Wisconsin border, the Beloit Sky Carp compete as the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.
The Peoria Chiefs, South Bend Cubs, Quad Cities River Bandits and Beloit Sky Carp are all in the same league and division, the Midwest League West.
Minor-league teams have already begun their seasons.
Finally, a number of summer collegiate leagues operate all over the U.S. These players are not pros, but rather college players who join up with a team during the summer before going back to school in the fall. These leagues typically don’t begin play until the end of May or early June.
In some cases, these are high-level players hoping to get noticed by pro scouts and eventually drafted.
The largest of these leagues is the wood-bat Northwoods League, which includes 24 teams from North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Canada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. That league begins its season on Memorial Day, May 27.
The teams closest to Chicagoland in the Northwoods League are the Rockford Rivets and the Kenosha (Wis.) Kingfish.
There is also a league called the Metropolitan Collegiate Summer Baseball League of Illinois.
According to its website, that league includes eight teams in the Chicagoland area and begins its season on Saturday, June 1.
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