The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in the Chicago metropolitan area. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2018 and play home games at the 6,300-seat Impact Field. The team's branding alludes to the Chicago-style hot dog, a local street food.
History 2018 In 2018, their first year as a team, the Dogs' manager was Butch Hobson. Former Chicago White Sox minor league pitcher Josh Goossen-Brown was the first player signed by the Chicago Dogs. They finished the season in fourth place out of six teams in the American Association North Division with a record of 45–54.
2019 In 2019, Carlos Zambrano joined the Dogs' roster. Zambrano had pitched in the major leagues for 12 years, most of them as a member of the Chicago Cubs. Butch Hobson continued to serve as the team's manager. Keon Barnum hit 31 home runs, breaking a record held by C.J. Ziegler of Wichita in 2013. The Dogs finished the season in third place in the North Division with a record of 59–41.
2020 In 2020, the Dogs competed as one of six league teams in a condensed 60-game season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were originally slated to play home games at Franklin Field (home of the Milwaukee Milkmen) due to capacity restrictions for outdoor events in Illinois. However, these restrictions were lifted on June 26 (as the state officially moved into Phase 4 of their reopening plan, allowing for outdoor spectator sports to resume at limited capacity) and thus enabled the Dogs to play all their home games at Impact Field.
2021 The Dogs won the North Division with a 63–37 record, clinching their first regular-season division title and playoff berth. They were eliminated by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the North Division Championship Series.
2022–2023 In 2022, the Dogs finished 54–46 and tied for first in the East Division. The following year, they finished 56–44 and shared the division lead, then advanced to the Miles Wolff Cup Finals, where they lost to the Kansas City Monarchs.
2025 Under manager Matt Passerelle, the Dogs finished 50–49 and placed second in the East Division. They swept the Lake Country DockHounds in the Division Series to reach the East Division Championship Series, where the Kane County Cougars won the deciding fifth game, 10–3.
Mascot
The mascot of the Chicago Dogs is Squeeze, a fuzzy yellow creature who resembles a squeeze bottle of mustard.
Season-by-season records Season League Division Record Div. Finish Ovr. Finish Win% Playoffs Manager2018 AA North 45–54 4th8th.455 Did not qualify Butch Hobson2019 AA North 59–41 3rd3rd.590 Did not qualify Butch Hobson2020 AA N/A 26–32 6th6th.448 Did not qualify Butch Hobson2021 AA North 63–37 1st2nd.630 Lost Division Championship; Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 3–2 Butch Hobson2022 AA East 54–46 1st3rd.540 Lost Division Series; Milwaukee Milkmen2–1 Butch Hobson2023 AA East 56–44 1st 2nd.560 Won Division Series; Cleburne Railroaders2–1 Won Division Championship; Milwaukee Milkmen2–1 Lost Wolff Cup Finals;Kansas City Monarchs3–1 Butch Hobson2024 AA East 55–45 3rd 5th.545 Won Division Series; Cleburne Railroaders2–1 Lost Division Championship; Kane County Cougars2–0 Jeff Isom2025 AA East 50–49 2nd 6th.505 Won Division Series; Lake Country DockHounds2–0 Lost Division Championship; Kane County Cougars3–2 Matt Passerelle
NOTE: Division realignment in 2022
Roster
Notable alumni Scott Barnes (2018) Joe Benson (2018) Chad Girodo (2018) Kenny Wilson (2018) Casey Crosby (2019–2020) Victor Roache (2019–2020) D. J. Snelten (2019, 2023) Luke Wilkins (2019) Carlos Zambrano (2019) Eddie Butler (2020) Jamie Callahan (2020) Jake Cousins (2020) Michael Crouse (2020–2022) Tyler Ladendorf (2020) Eric Stout (2020) Joey Terdoslavich (2020) T. J. Bennett (2021) Cam Booser (2021) Michael Bowden (2021) Jonathon Crawford (2021) Tyler Ferguson (2021) Christian Friedrich (2021) Connor Grey (2021) Anfernee Grier (2021–2022) Mickey Jannis (2022) Trevor Lane (2022–2023) James Reeves (2022–2023) Brian Schlitter (2022–2024) Charlie Tilson (2022) Stevie Wilkerson (2022) Braxton Davidson (2023) Payton Eeles (2023) Nick Heath (2023) Jake Newberry (2023) Joe Wieland (2023) Jason Bilous (2024) Narciso Crook (2024) Joey Marciano (2024) Keoni Cavaco (2025–present) Clint Coulter (2025) TJ Hopkins (2025–present) Will Kincanon (2025) Jeff Lindgren (2025) Anthony Ranaudo (2025–present) Chance Sisco (2025–present)
References
External links