Indians era in Buffalo ends

One of the most prolific minor league affiliations in recent history has come to an end.

With the Buffalo Bisons loss in their season finale yesterday, the relationship with the Cleveland Indians has officially ended after more than a decade of watching future stars come through Buffalo.

The frustrating finish left the Bisons with a 66-77 record, their worst since 1994 and their only losing season with the Tribe.

After putting nine playoff teams and three league champions in Buffalo since 1995, the Indians are expected to move their Triple-A operation to Columbus, Ohio, next season.

“It hasn’t settled in for me,” said Bisons outfielder Jason Cooper, a pending free agent who extended his franchise record by playing in his 410th game. “I feel like tomorrow morning when I wake up that it’s going to be a very strange feeling to realize I’m going home, the season is over, my tenure with the Bisons for right now is over, and my tenure with Cleveland is probably over.”

It is a sad end to what has been a very successful relationship. A look at some of the names who made stops here is basically an all-star roster. Manny Ramirez, Travis Hafner, CC Sabathia, Ryan Garko, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick, Russell Branyan, Coco Crisp, Victor Martinez, Sean Casey, Brian Giles, Richie Sexson, Jeromy Burnitz… the list goes on.

A proud era in Buffalo sports is over.

While we don’t know which team will be sending players to Buffalo next season quite yet, it’s going to be tough to live up to the standard set by Cleveland.