IL1 Buffalo Bisons

Bisons Release 2008 Schedule

Published on August 27, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


The Buffalo Bisons will open their home schedule for the 2008 season on Friday, April 11 against the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers). The game will be part of an eight-game homestand with the first four games against the Mud Hens and the last four (April 15-18) against the rival Syracuse SkyChiefs.

The 123rd season of professional baseball in Buffalo will begin with an eight-game roadtrip starting in Norfolk on Thursday, April 3.

"We are pleased to announce our 2008 schedule and give our fans a chance to plan ahead for next season," said Bisons Vice President/General Manager Mike Buczkowski. "With almost half of our home games in July and August, the 2008 season of baseball in downtown Buffalo should be fantastic."

A Summer at the Ballpark

The 2008 Bisons home schedule is back-loaded towards the summer months. Only one team in the International League has more August home games than the Buffalo's 17 (Louisville -18). In fact, from July 10 to the end of the season, no team in the IL has more home games scheduled than Buffalo's 29.

Along with two other teams, the Bisons will also play the fewest home games in April in the International League with just 12.

Buffalo will be home for 15 games in May and 13 in June. July's 16 home games are the second most for a month, behind only August. The 33 July and August home games are two more than the 2007 schedule.

There will be plenty of weekend dates as well for Bisons fans to choose from in 2008. A total of 33 of Buffalo's 72 home games (46%) are scheduled for the weekend, with 10 fridaynighbash! games, 11 Saturday games and 12 Family Fun Sundays on the schedule.

The Bisons will only play eight games on Wednesdays and just nine on Mondays. The game times for the entire season will be announced at a later date.

Herd/Hens Home Opener Starts Year Off

The Bisons home opener on Friday, April 11 against Toledo will start their 21st season at Dunn Tire Park. Since the ballpark opened on 1988, the Bisons are 13-7 in home openers, including an 8-3 victory over Ottawa on April 9, 2007. This will be the first time the Mud Hens are the Bisons first home opponent.

The Bisons have posted a winning record at home in each of the last nine seasons and in 17 of 20 years at Dunn Tire Park (857-572, .600 winning percentage).

Since Dunn Tire Park opened in 1988, the Bisons have had a paid attendance of 16,854,214.

2008 Schedule Highlights

The Herd will be home for 12 consecutive games, July 10-24 with only the All-Star break separating a four-game series with Louisville and eight games against Richmond and Norfolk. The Bisons will begin the home portion of the 2008 Thruway Series when the Syracuse Chiefs come to Dunn Tire Park on Tuesday, April 15. In its eleventh year, the Thruway Series features the three Triple-A teams located in New York State. The team with the best winning percentage in head-to-head competition wins the Thruway Cup.

The Bisons have won five of the last seven Thruway Series championships. The team can retire their second Thruway Cup with a series victory in 2007. Buffalo currently has a 4.0 game lead in this year's series with only six more games to play.

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will return to perform their 14th Annual Independence Eve Concert and Fireworks extravaganza on Thursday, July 3rd for the Bisons-Rochester Red Wings game.

Schedule Format

The International League format is unchanged from last season. Each team is scheduled to play 144 games (72 at home). The Bisons will play North Division opponents 16 times each (eight at home) and the Herd will face teams from the South and West Division 8 times each (four at home).

Notes

The 21st Annual Triple-A All-Star Game will be played on Wednesday, July 16th at Louisville Slugger Field, home of the IL's Louisville Bats. Since affiliating with the Cleveland Indians in 1995, the Bisons are 1053-803 (.567 winning percentage) during the regular season and have qualified for the post season in nine out of the first 12 years of the agreement. The Herd has won three championships during the affiliation (1997, 1998, 2004).

Check out the Buffalo Bisons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from August 27, 2007


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