WNY connections to the World Series between Yankees, Dodgers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers begins on Friday night.

There are a number of Buffalo Bisons and Western New York connections to the Fall Classic on both sides.

Dodgers

Dave Roberts, manager: Roberts played for the Bisons for parts of four seasons between 1998 and 2001 and is the franchise's all-time stolen base leader with 97 in 276 games. He also played a season with the Jamestown Jammers before going on to play 10 seasons in the major leagues. He is in his ninth season as manager of the Dodgers.

Teoscar Hernandez, outfielder: Hernandez played in 49 games with the Bisons across three seasons from 2017 to 2019 while he was coming up with the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting 13 home runs in that time. He won the Home Run Derby this past July as a member of the Dodgers.

Joe Kelly, pitcher: Kelly, the hard-throwing reliever, played the first 16 games of his professional career with the Batavia Muckdogs in 2009 when the franchise was a member of the New York-Penn League, starting two of them. He pitched to a 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 innings and struck our 30 hitters. Kelly is going for his third World Series ring.

Josh Bard, bullpen coach: During his playing career, Bard played in 169 games for Buffalo between 2002 and 2004. He was a mainstay on the 2002 team that reached the Governor's Cup finals.

Yankees

Giancarlo Stanton, designated hitter: The Yankees slugger played nine games with the Jamestown Jammers in his first season in professional baseball in 2007 when the franchise was in the NYPL, blasting his first professional home run in a Jamestown uniform as a 17-year-old. He now has over 400 major league home runs.

Marcus Stroman, pitcher: Stroman made eight starts with Buffalo during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, earning the nod as the team's opening day starter in 2014. He won two of those starts.

Tim Mayza, pitcher: Mayza pitched 31 games out of the bullpen for the Bisons between 2017 and 2018. The former was the most impressive season, pitching to a 0.93 ERA in 19 1/3 innings while striking out 16 hitters. He returned for rehab appearances with the Bisons in 2021 and 2022.

Jon Berti, utility: Berti made appearances with the Bisons across four seasons between 2015 and 2018 for a total of 113 games. Of those, 62 came in 2017, where he hit three home runs and stole 23 bases.