Buffalo Bisons
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- This article is about the minor league baseball franchise, for other teams named Buffalo Bisons see Buffalo Bisons (disambiguation).
| Buffalo Bisons | ||
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| League | International League | |
| Division | North Division | |
| Year founded | 1979 | |
| Major League affiliation | Cleveland Indians | |
| Home ballpark | Dunn Tire Park (1988-present) |
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| Previous home ballparks | Olympic Park (1884-1888) Buffalo Baseball Park (1889-1923) Offermann Stadium (1924-1960) War Memorial Stadium (1961-1970, 1979-1987) Hyde Park Stadium (1967-1968) |
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| City | Buffalo, New York | |
| Current uniform colors | green, red, gold, black | |
| Previous uniform colors | red, navy blue | |
| Logo design | The wordmark "Bisons" in red outlined gold and black with green drop shadow. Centered below the wordmark is a bison wearing a baseball uniform sliding into a base. | |
| Division titles | 1998, 2001, 2004, 2005 | |
| League titles | 1933, 1936, 1938, 1947, 1949, 1957, 1961, 1998, 2002, 2004 | |
| Manager | Torey Lovullo | |
| Owner | Bob Rich Jr. | |
The Buffalo Bisons (Pronounced 'BI-zons' by locals) are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. The team, which plays in the International League, is the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club. The Bisons play in Dunn Tire Park stadium, located in downtown Buffalo.
The current incarnation of the Bisons was founded in 1979, when Buffalo ownership interests purchased the Jersey City franchise of the Class AA Eastern League and moved the team to the Queen City.
After six seasons in the Eastern League, the Bisons joined the AAA ranks in 1985, joining the American Association when the Wichita Aeros franchise rights were transferred to Buffalo. When the American Association folded after the 1997 season, Buffalo (along with the Indianapolis Indians and Louisville RiverBats) found refuge in the International League, while their former American Association opponents joined the Pacific Coast League.
The Bisons most recent playoff season was in 2004, when the team came back from being 10 games out of first place in late June to winning their division by a convincing 9.5 games. Buffalo won its first-round playoff against Durham and advanced to the leagues playoffs, 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 set to be played in Buffalo. The Bisons defeated the Braves in four games and won the Governors' Cup for the second time since 1998. With many of its players shuffled to Cleveland throughout the final months of the season, the Bisons failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2006.
Note: The Buffalo Bisons was also the name of the championship team that played in the International Association in 1878, the National League from 1879–1885 and 1890 (see Buffalo Bisons (1879-1885)), and another team also known as the Buffalo Buffed in 1914 and Buffalo Blues in 1915 in the Federal League. More recently, the Bisons were an entry in the Eastern League from 1979-1984. The Buffalo Bisons was also the name of a minor league hockey team which played in Buffalo from 1928 to 1970, including in the American Hockey League.
The main mascots of the team have traditionally been Buster Bison along with his cousin Chip, but as of 2006, a new mascot named Belle has made her appearance, along with attractive reporter "Johnny $tyles." It is still unknown as to if Buster and Belle will pursue a love interest in the upcoming season.
Contents |
[edit] Season Records
[edit] International League Play
| Season | Manager | Record | Win % | Finish |
| 1998 | Jeff Datz | 81-62 | .566 | 1st, East |
| 1999 | Jeff Datz | 72-72 | .500 | 4th, East |
| 2000 | Joel Skinner | 86-59 | .593 | 1st, North |
| 2001 | Eric Wedge | 91-51 | .641 | 1st, North |
| 2002 | Eric Wedge | 84-54 | .609 | 2nd, North |
| 2003 | Marty Brown | 73-70 | .510 | 3rd, North |
| 2004 | Marty Brown | 83-61 | .576 | 1st, North |
| 2005 | Marty Brown | 82-62 | .569 | 1st, North |
| 2006 | Torey Lovullo | 73-68 | .518 | 3rd, North |
| 2007 | Torey Lovullo | -- | -- | -- |
[edit] Titles
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.
- 1933 - Defeated Rochester
- 1936 - Defeated Baltimore
- 1938 - Lost to Newark
- 1947 - Lost to Syracuse
- 1949 - Lost to Montréal
- 1957 - Defeated Miami
- 1961 - Defeated Rochester
- 1998 - Defeated Durham
- 2002 - Lost to Durham
- 2004 - Defeated Richmond
Since 1998 the Bisons have won the North IL Division 4 times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005)
[edit] Current Roster
As of September 21, 2006
| Pitchers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Throws | DOB | Place of Birth | |
| 23 |  |
Jake Dittler | R | 11/24/81 | Henderson, Nevada |
| 28 | |
Danny Graves | R | 8/7/73 | Saigon, Vietnam |
| 32 | |
Rob Bell | R | 1/17/77 | Newburgh, New York |
| 38 | |
Dan Denham | R | 12/24/82 | Antioch, California |
| 49 | |
Jason Stanford | L | 1/23/77 | Tucson, Arizona |
| 54 |  |
Hyang-Nam Choi | R | 3/28/71 | South Korea |
| 56 | |
Vic Darensbourg | L | 11/13/70 | Los Angeles, California |
| Catchers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Bats | Throws | DOB | Place of Birth | |
| 17 |  |
Armando Camacaro | R | R | 4/6/79 | Caracas, Venezuela |
| 27 | |
Tim Laker | R | R | 11/27/69 | Encino, California |
| Infielders | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Bats | Throws | POS | DOB | Place of Birth | |
| 1 | |
Jason Alfaro | R | R | 3B | 11/29/77 | Fort Worth, Texas |
| 10 | |
Asdrubal Cabrera | S | R | SS | 11/13/85 | Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela |
| 16 |  |
Ramon Vazquez (on DL) | L | R | IF | 8/2/76 | Aibonito, Puerto Rico |
| 24 | |
Jake Gautreau | L | R | 2B | 11/17/79 | McAllen, Texas |
| ?? |  |
Jose Chavez | S | R | SS | 1/2/85 | Guaymas, Mexico |
| Outfielders | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Bats | Throws | POS | DOB | Place of Birth | |
| 4 | |
Ben Francisco | R | R | OF | 10/23/81 | Santa Ana, California |
| 37 | |
Jason Cooper | L | L | OF | 12/6/80 | Richland, Washington |
| 43 | |
Jonathan Van Every | L | L | OF | 11/27/79 | Brandon, Mississippi |
[edit] Top Prospects
[edit] Current Bisons who have appeared in at least one game with another team in 2006
- Jason Alfaro (Indianapolis Indians)
- Bear Bay (Akron Aeros)
- Asdrubal Cabrera (Tacoma Rainiers)
- Armando Camacaro and (Akron Aeros and Kinston Indians)
- Jose Chavez (Burlington Indians and Lake County Captains)
- Dan Denham (Akron Aeros)
- Danny Graves (Cleveland Indians)
- Tim Laker (Cleveland Indians)
- Jonathan Van Every (Akron Aeros)
- Ramon Vazquez (Cleveland Indians)
[edit] Appeared in at least one game with 2006 Bisons but no longer with team
- Mike Adams (currently with Portland Beavers) x
- Andrew Brown (currently with San Diego Padres)
- Fernando Cabrera (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Fausto Carmona (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Jason Davis (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Einar Diaz (currently with Los Angeles Dodgers) x
- Jason Dubois (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Jose Flores (currently with Fresno Grizzlies) x
- Travis Foley (currently with Akron Aeros)
- Ryan Garko (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Jeremy Guthrie (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Franklin Gutierrez (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Felix Heredia (currently with Sultanes Monterrey) x
- Ben Howard (currently with Syracuse Chiefs) x
- Joe Inglett (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Kevin Kouzmanoff (currently with San Diego Padres)
- Juan Lara (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Andy Marté (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Tom Mastny (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Lou Merloni (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Jason Michaels (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Adam Miller (currently with Akron Aeros)
- Matt Miller (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Edward Mujica (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Ivan Ochoa (currently with Akron Aeros)
- Rafael Pérez (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- C.C. Sabathia (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Kelly Shoppach (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Brian Slocum (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Jeremy Sowers (currently with Cleveland Indians)
- Eider Torres (currently with Akron Aeros)
- x - No longer with Indians organization
[edit] Alumni
[edit] External links
- Buffalo Bisons web site
- Buffalo Bisons Hockey home page
- Buffalo Bisons Roster, Splits, and Situational Stats
- Photographs of War Memorial Stadium, former home of the Buffalo Bisons - Rochester Area Ballparks
- Photographs of Dunn Tire Park, current home of the Buffalo Bisons - Rochester Area Ballparks
| Cleveland Indians Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Buffalo Bisons | Akron Aeros |
Kinston Indians Lake County Captains Mahoning Valley Scrappers |
Gulf Coast Indians VSL Indians |
| International League | ||||
| North Division | South Division | West Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bisons | Ottawa Lynx | Pawtucket Red Sox | Rochester Red Wings | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees | Syracuse Chiefs | Charlotte Knights | Durham Bulls | Norfolk Tides | Richmond Braves | Columbus Clippers | Indianapolis Indians | Louisville Bats | Toledo Mud Hens | ||
