GARY, Ind. — Gary SouthShore RailCats southpaw Tony Cogan – who in separate years set the club’s single-season saves and ERA records – has announced his retirement from professional baseball, bringing to an end a decorated nine-year career that included 39 games with the Kansas City Royals in 2001.  Cogan first announced his intention to retire at the team’s annual Fan Fest, Saturday, February 20 at the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville.

“Tony exemplifies every quality we look for in a player, beginning with being a first-class person,” RailCats Manager Greg Tagert said. “What always impressed me about Tony was how excited he was to be part of our ballclub, treating it with the same pride and commitment he did when playing in the major leagues.  There is no doubt Tony will be highly successful in any direction he chooses to go in life.”

Cogan, 33, fought all the way back from arm injuries that cost him two full seasons in the middle of the decade to become one of the best pitchers in RailCats history.  The Northern League saves leader with 25 for the league champion 2007 RailCats, Cogan was the team’s Opening Day starter the next two seasons and finished 2008 with a record 2.08 ERA in 13 starts.  The 2009 season saw Cogan twirl the only two complete game shutouts of his pro career, embark on a remarkable 28.2 inning scoreless streak and earn a spot on the Northern League Post-Season All-Star Team as the circuit’s best left-handed pitcher.

“Being a part of the RailCats organization was the perfect way to end my career,” Cogan said.  “I feel very fortunate to have been able to play for the RailCats, and I want to thank Greg [Tagert], the Salvi family and everyone in the front office for making it such a great place to play.  I felt like part of a family from day one and that extended all the way from my teammates to the great fans.”

A two-time Northern League All-Star, Cogan’s 3.03 ERA in 81 RailCats games is the second-lowest in team history, behind only former Pitcher of the Year Jeremy Plexico.  In fact, Cogan has the lowest ERA of any ‘Cats pitcher to spend more than one season with the team and is in the top five in team history in career strikeouts, opponent’s batting average, saves, wins, ERA, shutouts, innings, games started, games finished and appearances.

Not a power pitcher after his injury, Cogan nonetheless became just the second RailCats pitcher ever to lead the Northern League in strikeouts in 2009, fanning a career-high 105 in a league-leading 22 starts.  Capable of lengthy dominating stretches, Cogan made it extremely tough for Northern League hitters to get on base, evidenced by his miniscule 1.12 WHIP and .293 OBP against in three seasons.

Cogan also had a knack for pressure performances, none greater than in Game Three of the 2008 Northern League Semifinals.  With the best-of-five series tied at one and headed to Winnipeg for two games against the Goldeyes, Cogan went the distance against of the league’s best lineups, allowing only seven Goldeyes to reach base in a 5-2 RailCats win that turned the tide of a series the ‘Cats would win one day later.  For an encore, Cogan beat the Kansas City T-Bones twice in the 2009 Northern League Semifinals, winning games one and five with a pair of masterful eight-inning starts.  Cogan allowed 12 hits in 16.0 IP over those two games and struck out 12 without walking a single batter.

A 12th round draft choice in 1999, Cogan rapidly rose to the Major Leagues and made the Kansas City Royals Opening Day roster in 2001 despite having only two appearances above Single-A under his belt.  Cogan made 39 appearances out of the Royals bullpen in 2001 and was in Double-A the next year making the move to the starting rotation before suffering a severe shoulder injury.  The Highland Park, Illinois native did not return to a professional mound until 2005 as a member of the Sioux Falls Canaries.

Cogan was a prep phenom at Highland Park (Ill.) High School before enrolling at college powerhouse Stanford and helping the Cardinal to the 1997 College World Series.  A college reliever, Cogan still ranks in the top five in Stanford history in saves and made a school-record 37 appearances in 1997.  Cogan’s shortstop with the RailCats – Jay Pecci – was also Cogan’s teammate for three seasons at Stanford.

The entire RailCats organization wishes to thank Tony for three outstanding years both as a pitcher and ambassador of RailCats baseball, and wishes him luck in his new career.

The RailCats will begin the 2010 season Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. against the Kansas City T-Bones at U. S. Steel Yard.  Season tickets, group outings, mini-plans and flex vouchers are available now by calling the RailCats Ticket Office at 219.882.2255 or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.