# Chicago Dogs

The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. 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 59–40.

### 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 East Division with a record of 54–46, clinching their first regular season division title and playoff berth in franchise history. The Dogs lost the Divisional series to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

## 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 | Manager |
| 2018 | AA | North | 45–54 | 4th | 8th | .455 | Did not qualify | Butch Hobson |
| 2019 | AA | North | 59–41 | 3rd | 3rd | .590 | Did not qualify | Butch Hobson |
| 2020 | AA | N/A | 26–32 | 6th | 6th | .448 | Did not qualify | Butch Hobson |
| 2021 | AA | North | 63–37 | 1st | 2nd | .630 | Lost Division Championship; Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 3–2 | Butch Hobson |
| 2022 | AA | East | 54–46 | 1st | 3rd | .540 | Lost Division Series; Milwaukee Milkmen 2–1 | Butch Hobson |
| 2023 | AA | East | 56–44 | 1st | 2nd | .560 | Won Division Series; Cleburne Railroaders 2–1 Won Division Championship; Milwaukee Milkmen 2–1 Lost Wolff Cup Finals; Kansas City Monarchs 3–1 | Butch Hobson |
| 2024 | AA | East | 55–45 | 3rd | 5th | .545 | Won Division Series; Cleburne Railroaders 2–1 Lost Division Championship; Kane County Cougars 2–0 | Jeff Isom |
* NOTE: Division realignment in 2022

## Notable alumni

* Joe Benson (2018)
* Kenny Wilson (2018)
* Scott Barnes (2018)
* Chad Girodo (2018)
* Carlos Zambrano (2019)
* Casey Crosby (2019–2020)
* Victor Roache (2019–2020)
* D. J. Snelten (2019, 2023)
* Tyler Ladendorf (2020)
* Joey Terdoslavich (2020)
* Eddie Butler (2020)
* Jamie Callahan (2020)
* Jake Cousins (2020)
* Eric Stout (2020)
* Michael Crouse (2020–2022)
* Michael Bowden (2021)
* Cam Booser (2021)
* Jonathon Crawford (2021)
* Connor Grey (2021)
* Christian Friedrich (2021)
* Tyler Ferguson (2021)
* Anfernee Grier (2021–2022)
* Charlie Tilson (2022)
* Mickey Jannis (2022)
* Stevie Wilkerson (2022)
* James Reeves (2022–2023)
* Trevor Lane (2022–2023)
* Brian Schlitter (2022–present)
* Nick Heath (2023)
* Braxton Davidson (2023)
* Jake Newberry (2023)
* Joe Wieland (2023)
* Jason Bilous (2024)
* Narciso Crook (2024–present)
* Joey Marciano (2024–present)