NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Buffalo Bisons

World Series Features Many Former Bisons

October 27, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


When the World Series begins on Tuesday in Kansas City, baseball fans in Buffalo will see a lot of familiar names.

A dozen participants in this year's Fall Classic have ties to the Bisons with nine of coming directly from the Herd's four-year affiliation with the Mets from 2009-2012. The list includes a Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer in Mets' manager Terry Collins, a team Most Valuable Player (2010) in New York outfielder Lucas Duda and the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game 'Star of Stars,' Mets' Game 1 pitcher Matt Harvey.

Collins, Mets' pitching coach Dan Warthen and pitcher Bartolo Colon are the three of the 12 that were with the Bisons before their affiliation with New York. Collins, of course, won 246 games as the manager of the Bisons from 1989-1991, while Warthen pitched 10 games for a Double-A Buffalo squad in 1981 that played at War Memorial Stadium. Colon was a superstar prospect with the Indians in the mid 1990s and still has the lone no-hitter in Coca-Cola Field history in 1997.

The one former Bisons player that's on the Royals roster also came through the Queen City during the Mets' affiliation. Pitcher Chris Young threw six shutout innings in his only Herd appearance, a 3-0 loss to Columbus in Buffalo's 2012 School Kids day morning game.

On the field in Buffalo, Harvey and Duda no doubt steal the headlines. Harvey was 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 20 starts as the Herd's ace in 2012. He shined the brightest on the biggest stage, throwing two shutout innings at the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game that was played at Coca-Cola Field. Duda spent parts of three seasons with the Herd from 2010-2012, hitting 30 home runs with a .564 slugging pct. that is the 3rd-highest mark in the Bisons' modern era.

Mets' playoff history-making slugger Daniel Murphy played eight games in 2010 for Buffalo, but had that season end with a serious knee injury suffered by a takeout slide at second base. Jon Niese started the first game of the Bisons/Mets affiliation in 2009 and went on to go 5-6 with a 3.82 ERA that season. Jeurys Familia was a starter in Buffalo, racking up the 5th-highest single-season strikeout total (128) in 2012 while going 9-9 with a 4.73 ERA. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit .266 with 37 extra-base hits in 88 games over three campaigns.

The Mets' coaching staff of Collins and Warthen also includes third base coach Tim Tuefel, who managed the Bisons to a 61-82 record in 2011 and bullpen coach Rickey Bones, who was Buffalo's pitching coach from 2009-2011.


• Discuss this story on the International League message board...

International League Stories from October 27, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central