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 hint ...

. 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 (), li ...

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 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 th ...

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. ...

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 Great Wolf Lodge is a resort and indoor waterpark of located in Gurnee, Illinois near Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills. The resort is operated by Great Wolf Resorts. It was originally opened as Key Lime Cove and was listed as the "Offi ...

indoor waterpark in nearby

Gurnee Gurnee ( ) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area. Best known for being th ...

, also home to

Gurnee Mills Gurnee Mills is a shopping mall and outlet mall in Gurnee, Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area and it is one of the tourist destinations in Chicago, Illinois. Like the nearby Six Flags Great America and Great Wolf Lodge, the mall's place ...

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 Ma ...

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)

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- 2010 Rookie of the Year *

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

North American League (2011)

* C.J. Ziegler (also with

Calgary Vipers The Calgary Vipers were a professional baseball team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They were part of the Western Division of the independent North American League. The Vipers played all of their home games at Foothills Stadium. Previously, t ...

) - 2011 End of Year All-Star Team (1B) *

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(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)) -

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

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 The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada ...

(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 Cardina ...

(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 The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The Flyers were to be charter members of the North American League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, but the team fol ...

(also owned by

Rich Ehrenreich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

)

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