Nine former Bisons in MLB playoffs
There's no better time in baseball than October where legends are made and championships are won.
For Bisons fans, the games leading up to the Fall Classic gives them a chance to shift their allegiance to their favorite major league club. Maybe it's a team from a city they used to live in. Or, maybe there's a club they followed as a child.
Maybe you just don't have a rooting interest. Well, Bisons.com is here to help. Why not pull for the team that has the most ties to your hometown team? Why not root for….the Detroit Tigers?
That's right. There are nine former Bisons ready to take the field in the MLB playoffs and a third will wear the old fashion 'D' on their caps.
Detroit's playoff roster will sport former Bisons Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez and Matt Tuiasosopo as they gear up for their Divisional Series matchup with the Oakland Athletics. The trio combined for 346 hits during the regular season with Peralta (.303) and Martinez (.301) both averaging over .300.
Of course, Peralta will forever be remembered in Buffalo for his International League MVP season in 2004 that helped the Herd to a Governors' Cup Championship. Martinez hit .328 in 73 games with the club in 2003 and Tuiasosopo had 26 extra-base hits in 131 contests with the Bisons in 2012.
Rooting for the Tigers, however, means rooting against one of the most popular pitchers in the Bisons modern era. Oakland will turn to Bartolo Colon in game one of their series with Detroit. The only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Buffalo's modern era, Colon was an impressive 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts as the ace of the A's staff. He'll be supported in the outfield by Coco Crisp, who had more home runs (22) in the major leagues this year than any former Bisons player.
As for the rest of the playoffs, Boston checks in with one former Bison in infielder John McDonald but does sport two more with Manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo a part of the Red Sox staff. Tampa also has a former Bison in the form of catcher Chris Gimenez.
Over in the National League, there are two former Bisons on playoff rosters. Edward Mujica closes out games for the Cardinals while Freddy Garcia appeared in six regular season games with the Braves. There are no former Bisons on the Pirates or Dodgers.
Enjoy the postseason and we'll see you at the Bisons World Series Game 2 party at Pettibones Grille on Thursday, October 24. Stay tuned to Bisons.com for event details soon.