Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons are a professional minor league baseball team based in Buffalo , New York . They currently play in the International League ( IL ) and are currently the Triple - A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays . The Bisons play at Coca - Cola Field in downtown Buffalo . The current incarnation of the Bisons was founded in 1979 , when Buffalo ownership interests purchased the Jersey City A ' s of the Double - A Eastern League and moved the team to the city . History . Previous Buffalo Bisons teams . The history of teams known as the Buffalo Bisons dates to a major league club , the Buffalo Bisons of the National League , who played from 1879 to 1885 . In 1886 , the Bisons moved into minor league baseball as members of the original International League . ( An " outlaw " team also known as the Buffalo Bisons also played in the Players ' League , an upstart third major league , in 1890 , but that team is not currently considered part of the Bisons history . ) This team joined the Western League in 1899 , and was within weeks of becoming a major league team when the Western League announced it was changing its name to the American League in 1900 . However , by the start of the 1901 season , Buffalo had been bumped from the league in favor of the Boston Americans ; the Bisons returned to the minors that year . This franchise continued in the IL ( formerly known as the Eastern League ) through June 1970 , when it transferred to Winnipeg , Manitoba as the Winnipeg Whips , due to poor attendance and stadium woes . In 1969 , Héctor López became the first black manager at the Triple - A level while managing Buffalo Bisons — six years before Frank Robinson became the first black manager in Major League Baseball . After stops in Winnipeg and Hampton , Virginia , the team was suspended after the 1973 season to make way for the Memphis Blues . The Bisons name was revived when a Double - A Eastern League franchise moved to Buffalo in 1979 . That team assumed the previous Bisons team history . After six seasons in the Eastern League , the Bisons rejoined the Triple - A ranks in 1985 , joining the American Association when the Wichita Aeros ' franchise rights were transferred to Buffalo . When , as part of a reorganization of Triple - A baseball , the American Association folded after the 1997 season , Buffalo joined the International League . Since their return to Triple - A baseball in 1985 , the Bisons have qualified for the playoffs several times . In 2004 , although the Bisons were 10 games behind the first - place team in June , the Bisons would go on to win their division . Buffalo won its first - round playoff , against the Durham Bulls , and advanced to 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 played in Buffalo . The Bisons defeated the Braves in four games and won the Governors ' Cup for the second time since 1998 . In 2005 , Buffalo won the North Division and played the Indianapolis Indians in the first round , winning the first two games in Indianapolis , but losing all three remaining games . With many of its players shuffled to the Cleveland Indians throughout the final months of the season , the Bisons failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2006 . In 2007 , Buffalo failed once again to clinch a playoff spot , marking the first time since Buffalo was parented with the Pittsburgh Pirates that the Bisons missed the playoffs in back - to - back seasons . Mets era . After the 2008 season , Buffalo parted ways with Cleveland , as the Indians signed an affiliation agreement with the Columbus Clippers beginning in 2009 . The Bisons then signed a two - year agreement to be the top home for New York Mets prospects . On December 16 , 2008 , the Mets officially announced that Ken Oberkfell would be the Bisons new manager for 2009 . At the same press conference , the Bisons also unveiled their new logo . The logo paid homage to baseball ' s history in the city of Buffalo with the city ' s skyline in the background . The logo , along with the new colors of blue and orange , closely resemble that of the team ' s new parent club , the Mets . In the 2009 – 2010 off - season , the Bisons were chosen to host the 2012 Triple - A All - Star Game to celebrate 25 years at Coca - Cola Field . The game was played on Wednesday , July 11 , 2012 . In late July 2010 , the Bisons and Mets agreed on a two - year extension that carried their agreement through the 2012 season . The 2010 – 2011 off - season saw changes to the Bisons coaching staff . Ken Oberkfell was replaced by Tim Teufel , who was a member of the 1986 Mets team . Teufel was introduced on Friday January 21 , 2011 , as the 16th manager in the Bisons ' modern era . The 2011 – 2012 off - season once again saw coaching changes . Tim Teufel was replaced by Wally Backman . He was introduced on November 17 , 2011 . Blue Jays era . The Bisons ' agreement with the Mets ended after the 2012 season because the Bisons ' management was dissatisfied with poor attendance and performance during the Mets era . The Bisons enjoyed only one winning season out of the four years that they were affiliated with the Mets . Consequently , the Bisons signed a player development contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on September 18 , 2012 . The Blue Jays are geographically the closest MLB team to Buffalo and such a partnership would build on other international fan base efforts in the region , such as the Bills Toronto Series in football . As part of the rebuilding efforts , the Bisons announced a new uniform ( a throwback uniform using a modernized variant of their 1980s logo and colors ) and the return of former Bisons manager Marty Brown in November 2012 . On April 18 , 2013 the Bisons scored 27 runs on 29 hits against the Syracuse Chiefs , setting records for the most runs and hits in an International League game since 1973 . On August 29 , 2013 , the Bisons and Blue Jays agreed on extending the contract to the 2016 season . 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 . Since 1998 the Bisons have won the IL North Division four times ( 1998 , 2001 , 2004 , and 2005 ) . They have also won the Thruway Cup , a regular - season competition between Buffalo , Rochester , and Syracuse , six times since its inception in 1998 . Alumni . Notable former Bisons . Players named to the Bisons ' " All 25 Seasons Team " are indicated by a double dagger ( ) Mascots . The main mascots of the team have traditionally been Buster T . Bison along with his cousin Chip , but as of 2006 , a new mascot named Belle the Ballpark Diva has appeared , along with flamboyant reporter Johnny Styles . Buster and Belle pursued a love interest , and were married following a game on August 26 , 2007 , against the Scranton / Wilkes - Barre Yankees . Buster and Chip wear Bisons jerseys and caps . Buster ' s number was the last two numbers of the season up to 2009 , however , as of the 2010 season his number is 83 , signifying the year Buster first appeared as the team ' s mascot . Chip ' s number has always been . The Bisons have had a number of other mascots in the past . MicroChip , who was smaller and presumably " younger " than Buster and Chip , wore a Bisons jersey as well . His number was . Loudmouth , a mime played by actress Tracey B . Wilson , was another mascot for the team . The other official mascot of the Bisons was Howie the Ump . He wore a costume much like Buster and Chip , but it was a costume of a human umpire , with an umpire ' s uniform and mask . He was very short - lived , existing only during the 1995 – 1997 seasons , and was played by local improvisational comedian Randy Reese . Other unofficial Bisons entertainers include Conehead , a beer vendor who wears a rubber cone - head hat , and The Earl of Bud ( entertainer Earl Howze , Jr . , currently of Chattanooga , Tennessee ) , another beer vendor , who would climb on the dugout and dance at some point during the game . The Earl of Bud made an appearance at the 20th Anniversary game for Dunn Tire Park in August 2007 . He also made appearances at the ballpark in July and August 2012 . Media / game broadcasts . All Bisons games can be heard on WWKB / 1520 in Buffalo and many games are televised on Time Warner Cable SportsNet throughout Western New York . Ben Wagner handles play by play while veteran Duke McGuire is color commentator . Beginning in 2009 , Friday games aired as a Game of the Week package on WGR AM 550 . These games are a simulcast of those airing on WWKB . Also , Buffalo Bisons games are sometimes aired on SportsNet New York , which is co - owned by Time Warner Cable and the New York Mets ( as well as Comcast ) . Jim Rosenhaus , a Bisons broadcaster for 11 years , is now a Cleveland Indians broadcaster . His predecessor Pete Weber , who was the Bisons play - by - play broadcaster for 13 years , currently serves in that role for the Nashville Predators .