This article is about the minor league baseball franchise, for other teams named Buffalo Bisons see Buffalo Bisons (disambiguation).

This article covers all modern incarnations but focuses on the Double-A team founded in 1979 and the Triple-A team that moved from Wichita, Kansas in 1984.

The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League (IL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. The Bisons play at Coca-Cola Field in downtown Buffalo.

The current incarnation of the Bisons was founded in 1979, when Buffalo ownership interests purchased the Jersey City A's of the Double-A Eastern League and moved the team to the city.

Team history[link]

The history of teams known as the Buffalo Bisons dates to a major league club, the Buffalo Bisons of the National League, who played from 1879 to 1885. In 1886, the Bisons moved into minor league baseball as members of the original International League. (An "outlaw" team also known as the Buffalo Bisons also played in the Players' League, an upstart third major league, in 1890, but that team is not currently considered part of the Bisons history.) This team joined the Western League in 1899, and was within weeks of becoming a major league team when the Western League announced it was changing its name to the American League in 1900. However, by the start of the 1901 season, Buffalo had been bumped from the league in favor of the Boston Americans; the Bisons returned to the minors that year.

This franchise continued in the IL (known as the Eastern League from 1891 to 1911) through June 11, 1970, when it transferred to Winnipeg, Manitoba as the Winnipeg Whips, due to poor attendance and stadium woes. In 1969, Héctor López became the first black manager at the Triple-A level while managing Buffalo Bisons—six years before Frank Robinson became the first black manager in Major League Baseball.^[1] After stops in Winnipeg and Hampton, Virginia, the team was suspended after the 1973 season to make way for the Memphis Blues.

A Bisons game at Coca-Cola Field in July 2010

The Bisons name was revived when a Double-A Eastern League franchise moved to Buffalo in 1979. That team assumed the previous Bisons team history. After six seasons in the Eastern League, the Bisons rejoined the Triple-A ranks in 1985, joining the American Association when the Wichita Aeros' franchise rights were transferred to Buffalo. When, as part of a reorganization of Triple-A baseball, the American Association folded after the 1997 season, Buffalo joined the International League.

Since their return to Triple-A baseball in 1985, the Bisons have made the playoffs 11 times. In 2004, the team came back from being 10 games out of first-place in late June to winning their division by a convincing 9½ games. Buffalo won its first-round playoff, against the Durham Bulls, and advanced to the Governors' Cup Finals, in which they had home field advantage over the Richmond Braves. The remnants of Hurricane Ivan caused major flooding problems in Richmond and the entire series was played in Buffalo. The Bisons defeated the Braves in four games and won the Governors' Cup for the second time since 1998. In 2005, Buffalo won the North Division and played the Indianapolis Indians in the first round, winning the first two games in Indianapolis, but losing all three remaining games. With many of its players shuffled to the Cleveland Indians throughout the final months of the season, the Bisons failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2006. In 2007, Buffalo failed once again to clinch a playoff spot, marking the first time since Buffalo was parented with the Pittsburgh Pirates that the Bisons missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

The Mets era[link]

After the 2008 season, Buffalo parted ways with the Cleveland, as the Indians signed an affiliation agreement with the Columbus Clippers beginning in 2009. The Bisons then signed a two-year agreement to be the top home for New York Mets prospects.^[2]

On December 16, 2008, the Mets officially announced that Ken Oberkfell will be the Bisons new manager for 2009. At the same press conference, the Bisons also unveiled their new logo. The logo pays homage to baseball's 123 year history in the city of Buffalo with the city's skyline in the background. The logo, along with the new colors of blue and orange, closely resemble that of the team's new parent club, the Mets.^[3]

In the 2009–2010 off-season, the Bisons were chosen to host the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game to celebrate 25 years at Coca-Cola Field. The game will be played on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

In late July 2010, it was announced that the Bisons and Mets agreed on a two-year extension that will carry their agreement through the 2012 season.^[4]

The 2010–2011 off-season saw changes to the Bisons couching staff. Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell was promoted to the Mets as bench coach returning Oberkfell to the big leagues.^[5] Oberkfell was replaced by Tim Teufel who was a member of the 1986 Mets team. Teufel was introduced on Friday January 21, 2011, as the 16th manager in the Bisons' modern era.^[6]

The 2011-2012 off-season once again saw coaching changes. Tim Teufel was promoted to 3rd base coach on the Mets. He was replaced by Wally Backman.^[7] He was introduced on November 17, 2011.

Year-by-year records[link]

Titles[link]

The Bisons have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, 6 times, including the inaugural Cup, and played in the championship series 10 times.

Since 1998 the Bisons have won the IL North Division four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005). They have also won the Thruway Cup, a regular-season competition between Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, six times since its inception in 1998.

Roster[link]

Notable alumni[link]

Former Bisons in the majors in 2011[link]

(former Bisons players who have participated in at least one MLB game in 2011)

Buffalo Bisons in the National Baseball Hall of Fame[link]

Mascots[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The main mascots of the team have traditionally been Buster T. Bison along with his cousin Chip, but as of 2006, a new mascot named Belle the Ballpark Diva has appeared, along with flamboyant reporter Johnny $tyles. Buster and Belle pursued a love interest, and were married following a game on August 26, 2007, against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Buster and Chip wear Bisons jerseys and caps. Buster's number was the last two numbers of the season up to 2009, however, as of the 2010 season his number is 83, signifying the year Buster first appeared as the team's mascot. Chip's number has always been 1/2. The Bisons have had a number of other mascots in the past. MicroChip, who was smaller and presumably "younger" than Buster and Chip, wore a Bisons jersey as well. His number was 1/4. Loudmouth, a mime played by actress Tracey B. Wilson, was another mascot for the team. The other official mascot of the Bisons was Howie the Ump. He wore a costume much like Buster and Chip, but it was a costume of a human umpire, with an umpire's uniform and mask. He was very short-lived, existing only during the 1995–1997 seasons, and was played by local improvisational comedian Randy Reese.

Other unofficial Bisons include Conehead, a beer vendor who wears a rubber cone-head hat, and The Earl of Bud, another beer vendor, who during the third inning would climb on the dugout and dance. His last appearance was at the 20th Anniversary game for Dunn Tire Park in August 2007.

Media/game broadcasts[link]

All Bisons games can be heard on WWKB-AM in Buffalo and many games are televised on Time Warner Cable SportsNet throughout Western New York. Ben Wagner handles play by play while veteran Duke McGuire is color commentator.

Beginning in 2009, Friday games aired as a Game of the Week package on WGR AM 550. These games are a simulcast of those airing on WWKB. Also, Buffalo Bisons games are sometimes aired on SportsNet New York, which is co-owned by Time Warner Cable and the New York Mets (as well as Comcast).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buffalo Bisons

• Buffalo Bisons official website