Havana Sugar Kings/Buffalo Bison
Catcher
Jeremy Hunter
We begin the list immediately with one of the two Hall of Famers this franchise can claim in Hunter. Hunter is the first hall of fame catcher to be mentioned thus far, and considering there are only 5 catchers in the Hall of Fame, there is a good chance most of these features won't list one. Hunter spent his entire 16 year career in a Bisons uniform, a career that saw him total 2,430 hits, 354 homeruns, and 1,252 RBI. Those numbers rank him 1st, 2nd, and 1st in franchise history. Not only does Hunter's name litter the Havana leaderboard, but also the MBWBA leaderboard among catchers. Hunter is the all-time leader in runs, hits, total bases, singles, and WAR among all MBWBA catchers. Despite appearing in 7 all-star games, Hunter never won a major MBWBA award. Needless to say, Hunter is one of the best catchers in league history and among one of the best players in this franchise's history.
First Base
Carlin Adie
Adie is our first EBA defector to be mentioned in this running feature. Adie came over from Amsterdam in 2010 and joined the Buffalo roster via the Rule 6 draft. He'd spend the next 9 seasons in Buffalo, playing in 4 all-star games during his time there. He never posted an eye-popping WAR or OPS during his time in Buffalo but he was very consistent in his production. He would hit at least 30 homeruns on 6 occassions in Buffalo while driving in 100 RBI 4 times. His OPS would never drop below .800 until the final season of his tenure in Buffalo and peaked at .933 in 2016. He was also a mainstay in the lineup, appearing in at least 155 games all 9 seasons.
Second Base
Johnny Fever
Fever is going to be the opposite of Johanson and Hines that we will see at third base. Fever spent 15 seasons in the MBWBA but only 6 of those with the Buffalo franchise. But during his short time there, he was able to wrack up some pretty good numbers. Fever played in 3 all-star games during his career and two of those were with the Bisons. He never won a Silk Award, but in 1986 he probably came very close. In that season, Fever hit .294 with a 1.040 OPS, 47 homeruns, and 113 RBI. That added up to a 9.3 WAR, his best of his career. In a 3 year stretch, Johnny hit 33, 47, and 37 homeruns as well as driving in 121, 113, and 125 RBI. A very impressive feat for a shortstop at the time. Like Mahaffey with Louisville, a name that only takes me back to my GBC days, where Fever was a Hall of Famer.
Shortstop
Ryan Savakie
Savakie comes in as a very solid and consistent shortstop though not a Superstar. He never spent a season on an all-star team which will hurt Buffalo's overall chances in the tournament. He played in Buffalo from 1995-2004, hitting 20 homeruns 3 times during his career. In 2002, he shocked many by driving in 102 RBI, the first and only time he'd do it in Buffalo. The previous season, he managed to tally 191 hits and scored 113 runs, the only time in his career he'd break the 100 run mark.
Third Base
Bobby Hines
Hines is a solid player but won't receive much hype past this article. He never appeared in an all-star game despite 4 straight seasons of WAR above 4 and having a WAR above 3.0 in 7 of his 11 seasons. He spent his entire 11 year career in Buffalo, spanning from 2001-2011. He actually ranks 4th all-time in WAR in franchise history, which either says something about Hines or the rest of the franchise. He's 9th in runs scored and 7th in hits.
Leftfield
Rick Leach
Left field may have been the toughest spot to find a primetime all-star for the franchise. Leach played for the club back in the mid 1980s and put up a few solid years with the Bisons. He hit over .300 six times but never hit for much power, topping out with 24 homeruns in 1987 but hitting only 7 dingers in 1990. He was a positive player though, posting a WAR over 3.0 7 times in his 8 years with the club. He is 7th all time in slugging and 9th in WAR with the club.
Centerfield
Frank "White Devil" Boerner
Boerner spent his entire Buffalo career before the modern era, only playing 3 seasons in the modern era with the Calgary franchise. That puts him at 12 seasons with Buffalo and during that time, Boerner appeared in 4 all-star games. At first glance, I had Boerner as the club's rightfielder before realizing he spent most of his Buffalo time in Centerfield, making him an even bigger asset as premier CFs are hard to find. Boerner put up some very good seasons despite never winning a Silk Award thanks in large part to some bigger names taking the honors. In 1987, Boerner posted a 9.7 WAR after hitting .336 with a 1.125 OPS, 42 homeruns, and 113 RBI. The previous season, he hit 47 homeruns and drove in 131 runs. He finished his career with 414 homeruns with 382 of those coming as a member of the franchise, a record. Only Jeremy Hunter has more RBI than Boerner, and he only eclipsed him by 5. Boerner and Hunter are 1-2 in many franchise categories.
Rightfield
Dave Winfield
Winfield got a late start to his MBWBA career, entering the league at the ripe age of 28 in 1981. He didn't join the Bisons until 1984 and spent only 4 seasons with the club, but they were very impactful years. He spent 2 of those seasons as an all-star and in 1986 claimed his lone Sawyer Silk Award. In that season, Winfield belted 53 homeruns and drove in 144 RBI. It led to his first all-star appearance. He went back the following season, following up the '86 performance with a 42 homerun, 146 RBI performance. His 9.7 WAR in 1986 ties him for the single season record in franchise history. He doesn't appear on many all-time leaderboards due to his short tenure, but you'll see him listed in the single season books, including being first in Homeruns and RBI in a single season.
Designated Hitter
Ernest Watts
On most teams, Watts would likely be the starting catcher, but not on this team when you have a Hall of Famer ahead of you. Watts spent 10 seasons with Buffalo where he put up two seasons of a 6.8 and 6.9 WAR and was a lock for nearly 30 homeruns and over 100 RBI each season. He played in 6 all-star games in his career, 5 of those coming during his time in Buffalo. With 252 homeruns in a Bisons uniform, he ranks 5th on the franchise list. He's third in RBI with 942. Watts is the all-time leader in doubles by a catcher with 489 as well as RBI with 1,276. Is he a Hall of Famer?
Starting Pitcher
Steve Nebraska
The best ever. Period. And I don't mean best pitcher ever. The best player in league history. Let's just start with the fact the guy has the top pitcher award named after him. How did he earn that honor? Just look at his resume. 15 time All-Star. 14 Time Top Pitcher (Nebraska) Award. All-time leader in ERA, Strikeouts, Wins, and WAR. Not only does he possess these records, but they will NEVER be broken. Yes, I'll stand by that statement. Those records will NEVER be broken. When I ranked the top HOF members several years ago, he ranked #1 all-time. He's the best of the best. His status on this team immediately makes Buffalo a contender to upset some teams depending on how teams vote when we start the poll.
Closer
Richard Wasson
A pretty easy choice here as there were only 2 logical choices and Wasson was easily the decision. Wasson recorded a franchise record 332 saves from 1999-2011 as the Bisons closer. That doesn't count the 103 saves he had prior to joining the Bison. Wasson is another one of those closers with a lot of saves but just not enough to be considered a hall of famer. On two occassions he posted an ERA under 2.00 while topping the 40 save plateau twice during his time in Buffalo.
Snubs
Amos "Moses" South
Not a very memorable career for Mr. South as it amounted to just 1 all-star game appearance during his time in the league. But he did put up some pretty impressive numbers during the pre-modern era as a middle infielder. In 1986, South belted 40 homeruns while driving in 124 runs. It would be his only season with that many homeruns or over 100 RBI. He would string together back to back seasons after this with 98 RBI. After peaking in 1986 with a 7.6 WAR, his career numbers would slowly take a dive over the next few sesons until he was traded in 1991. South is 7th all-time in homeruns in franchise hitory with 177 and is 9th in triples. You won't find his name mentioned much more on the all-time side. I went with Fever at 2B instead.
Amen Mitrani
Mitrani was a borderline HOF with 215 wins and 3,199 strikeouts. He had 4 seasons of 20 or more wins, but despite all those wins, never managed to win a Nebraska Award. He'd likely be the starter for a dozen teams in the league in this feature had he played for them and not his entire career in Buffalo stuck in the shadow of Steve Nebraska.
Mike Swanson
Won 3 consecutive Nebraska awards from 2014-2016 and then claimed his 4th in 2019. All of them with Buffalo. Tough crowd when a 4-time Nebraska Award winner doesn't make the cut. He'd probably make more teams than Mitrani. If I made this a rotation and not just 1 starting pitcher, you'd be hard pressed to knock off this Buffalo unit!!
