The Lake County Fielders were an American professional minor league baseball team based in

Zion, Illinois Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,655. History The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907), a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who ...

, located in Lake County in the northern reaches of the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

. The Fielders were owned by Grand Slam Sports & Entertainment, LLC, based in Deerfield. The primary owner was Richard Ehrenreich.

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

, whose filmography includes baseball films ''

Bull Durham ''Bull Durham'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film. It is partly based upon the minor-league baseball experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor-league baseball team in ...

'' (1988), ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel ''Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'' (1989), and ''

For Love of the Game ''For Love of the Game'' is a novel by American author Michael Shaara, published posthumously in 1991. The book tells the story of fictional baseball great Billy Chapel, thirty-seven years old and nearing the end of his career. Plot summary On t ...

'' (1999), also had ownership interest in the team. A permanent stadium was never constructed. The Fielders were a member of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

in 2010 and joined the North American League in 2011 as part of the Northern Division. The team announced on April 10, 2012, that they would not be fielding a team for the 2012 baseball season.

Ballpark (temporary)

The Fielders began play in 2010 at

Carthage College Carthage College is a private college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It enrolls 2,600 full-time and 200 part-time students. Carthage awards bachelor's degrees with majors in more tha ...

because of funding problems with Zion Ballpark. The Fielders played their first game in Zion on July 2, 2010, at a young

Fielders Stadium Fielders Stadium is an unfinished baseball park in Zion, Illinois. It was nicknamed "A Diamond on the Border" and "Lake County's Field of Dreams." It was the designated home of the Lake County Fielders (2009-2012) of the North American League. Th ...

that didn't include much more than a field and bleachers. Lights were added to the field, and the Fielders played their first night game on Monday, July, 26. After the conclusion of the 2010 season, the temporary ballpark was completely dismantled and construction on a new, permanent stadium was supposed to begin. The park was not ready in time for the beginning of the 2011 season, and, as a result, the Fielders started the season with a 32-game road trip. Temporary stadium construction was again completed in time for the Fielders' home opener on July 3, 2011.

Founding

The team held a name-the-team contest to decide the nickname. The five finalists were ''Cowpokes'', ''Luckies'', ''Fielders'', ''Comets'', and ''Skippers''. The Fielders name, logo, and colors were unveiled on May 27, 2009, at the Key Lime Cove indoor waterpark in nearby Gurnee, also home to Gurnee Mills and

Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the ...

Media

Fielder games were broadcast live on WKRS-AM (1220) and wkrs.com with Qumar Zaman (who quit on air over financial disputes) and Les Grobstein (some games) on the play-by-play. The team got so transient that the new announcers could not refer to the players by name on many occasions.

Awards

Northern League (2010)

Joshua Short Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

- 2010 Rookie of the Year *

- 2010 End of Year All-Star Team (DH)

North American League (2011)

* C.J. Ziegler (also with Calgary Vipers) - 2011 End of Year All-Star Team (1B) *

Travis Weaver Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

(also with

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

( AA)) -

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Top 10 Independent League Prospect

All-Stars

Northern League (2010)

Amos Ramon Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

3B *

North American League (2011)

2011 (No All-Star Game)

Former Major Leaguers

* Jason Pearson (2010)

Contracts Purchased by MLB

Zach Ward Zack or Zach may refer to: People * Zach (surname), various people * Zack (surname), various people * Zack (personal name), lists of people and fictional characters named Zack, Zach, Zac, Zak or Zakk * Záh (gens) or Zách, a ''gens'' (clan) in th ...

(

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

) (2010) * Vince Bongiovanni (

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

) (2011) (after trade to

)

Managers

* Fran Riordan (41-59 .410 Pct.) (2010) * Tim "TJ" Johnson (27-35 .435 Pct.) (2011) *

Pete LaCock Ralph Pierre "Pete" LaCock Jr. (born January 17, 1952) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman/ outfielder. He batted and threw left-handed. In 1975, LaCock hit the only grand slam of his career in the final appearance of St. Louis Car ...

(0-1 .000 Pct.) (Interim) (2011) * Chris Thompson (0-1 .000 Pct.) (Interim) (2011) * Chris Arago (3-20 .130 Pct.) (2011)

Season Finishes

Northern League (2010)

* 2010 - (41–59) tied for 7th place with Schaumburg Flyers (also owned by Rich Ehrenreich)

North American League (North Division) (2011)

* 2011 - (27–36) 4th place (Pct.), 5th place (Wins) (did not finish official regular season)

References

External links

Official site
{{North American League North American League teams Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams Lake County, Illinois Professional baseball teams in Illinois Defunct baseball teams in Chicago Zion, Illinois 2009 establishments in Illinois 2012 disestablishments in Illinois Baseball teams established in 2009 Baseball teams disestablished in 2012 Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Illinois