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IL1 Buffalo Bisons

Former Bisons Giles, Morman Elected to Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame

July 26, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame announced today that former Bisons outfielder BRIAN GILES and former Bisons first baseman RUSS MORMAN have been elected to the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame.

Giles and Morman will be formally inducted during special Hall of Fame ceremonies before the Bisons fridaynightbash!(r) on August 10 as Buffalo hosts the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (7:05 p.m.).

Brian Giles Giles played in three seasons with the Bisons, joining the team from 1995-1996 and again in 1998. In 219 total games in Buffalo, the outfielder hit .308 (239-777) with 37 doubles, 14 triples, 37 home runs and 138RBI. His batting average is the 2nd best in the club's modern era, trailing only Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Clark. Giles also ranks 3rd in the modern era in on-base percentage (.391) and 4th in slugging percentage (.534).

A 17th round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1989 out of Granite Hills High School in California, Giles was a key component to the Tribe's return to Buffalo in 1995. He hit .310 (128-413) with 15 home runs and 67RBI in 123 games that year and was named an American Association Post Season All-Star. He was an A.A. Post Season All-Star again in 1996, hitting .314 (100-318) with 20 homers and 64RBI in 83 games. He remains the only Bisons player to be named to post season All-Star Teams in back-to-back seasons.

Giles played just 13 games with Buffalo in 1998 as he was soon established as a star in the Major Leagues. A two-time National League All-Star, Giles played 1,847 big league games with Cleveland, Pittsburgh and San Diego. He hit 287 home runs and drove in 1,078 runs and ranked in the Top-10 in the NL in on-base percentage seven times during his career. Always a difficult out, Giles led the NL with 119 walks in 2005 and retired after the 2009 season with far more free passes (1,183) than strikeouts (835) to his credit.

Russ Morman Morman played three seasons with the Bisons, helping usher in the return of Triple-A baseball to Buffalo in 1985 and 1986 and returning for one season at Coca-Cola Field in 1993. In 246 total games with the Herd, the first baseman hit .295 (247-838) with 54 doubles, 42 home runs and 148RBI. The slugger combined great power (.521 slugging percentage) with the ability to get on base (.381 on-base percentage) to produce a .902 OPS that is 4th best in the modern era behind only Hall of Fame classmate Brian Giles and current members of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame, Dave Clark and Jeff Manto.

Morman was drafted in the 1st round (28th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 1983 out of Wichita State University and reached the Triple-A level in only his third professional season. He played 21 games with the Herd in 1985 before hitting 13 home runs and driving in 57RBI in 106 games for Buffalo in 1986. That same year, Morman made his Major League debut with the White Sox and went on to hit .249 (117-470) with 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 43RBI in 207 career big league games with Chicago, Kansas City, and Florida.

In 1993, Morman signed a minor league contract with the Pirates and produced his best season as a Bison. He hit .320 (131-409) with 34 doubles, 22 home runs and 77RBI in 119 games as Buffalo's Most Valuable Player. Morman retired as a player after the 1999 season with 207 career home runs over 1,561 minor league games. He is currently the hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies and was an All-Star Coach in the Pacific Coast League's 3-0 victory over the International League in the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game played earlier this month at Coca-Cola Field.

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame Committee The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame committee is charged with the task of screening all candidates eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame and to select for induction such persons who have made a significant contribution to Buffalo professional baseball, or such Western New Yorkers who have made a meaningful contribution to professional baseball generally.

The committee is comprised of Tom Burns, Bob Dicesare, Mike Harrington, Kevin Lester, Duke McGuire, Bob Miske, John Murphy and Pete Weber.

Each year, the Hall of fame Committee nominates names for suggested induction onto a preliminary ballot. Finalists are selected by a secret ballot, where a three-quarters (3/4) vote of the committee is required for an individual to be inducted.

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