BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two more are joining the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
As part of the class of 2024, former Bisons infielder and 17-year MLB veteran Brandon Phillips and President of Baseball Operations and longest-tenured general manager in franchise history Mike Buczkowski have been selected to the Hall of Fame. With those two joining, the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame will now have 109 members.
Phillips played 345 games for the Bisons from 2002 to 2005 including helping the Bisons to win their sixth Governors’ Cup Championship in 2004. He ranks in the top give in the Herd’s modern era in hits (367 5th), at-bats (1,363 2nd), runs scored (206 3rd), and doubles (79 3rd). In the 2004 championship campaign, Phillips had his best season in Buffalo – hitting .303 with 34 doubles, eight home runs, 50 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 135 games. He went on a 51-game streak of reaching base safely.
In his MLB career, Phillips made three all-star games, four Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger at second base. He was a long-time teammate with current Bison Joey Votto in their years for the Cincinnati Reds.
Buczkowski was a member of the Bisons organization for 38 years. He joined the Herd in 1987 and served as the general manager from 1994 to 2019. He was the longest-tenured GM in Bisons history. During his tenure, the Bisons set the International League’s attendance record in 1998 and helped Buffalo lead their league in attendance seven times. The Bisons won the Bob Freitas Award from Baseball America for overall operational excellence in 1991 and 2001, the first Triple-A team to win the award twice. Buczkowski also was named the International League Executive of the Year in 2019. He is a native of Buffalo, graduating from Bishop Timon High School and Canisius College.
The Bisons are hosting a Hall of Fame induction dinner for Buczkowski on Saturday, August 24 at the Consumer's Pub at the Park restaurant. It will start at 4:30 p.m. before the game.
The Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame makes their selections based on people who have made significant contributions to Buffalo professional baseball or Western New Yorkers who contributed to professional baseball.
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