When he played for the Buffalo Bisons from 2005-2008, consistency at the plate and a megawatt smile were the two things outfielder Ben Francisco brought to the ballpark every day.
Those traits went a long way into building a career that got Francisco all the way to Game 6 of the 2009 World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies and will take him into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
"This was unexpected but it's definitely a big honor," Francisco said when reached by phone last week in Arizona. "I have so many good memories from Buffalo and I think that's kind of where my career took off, so it will be fun to go back."
Francisco will be joining ex-Buffalo shortstop Jhonny Peralta, the 2004 International League MVP, and left-handed pitcher Bob Patterson as the first class of the Hall since 2019 and they were honored both prior and during the game Saturday at Sahlen Field against Worcester. Francisco and Patterson were inducted during a dinner in Pub at the Park restaurant, threw ceremonial first pitches and were feted with video presentations during the game.
People are also reading…
P Bob Patterson and OF Ben Francisco throw ceremonial first pitches in Sahlen Field after being inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame. #Bisons pic.twitter.com/915A5kriTh
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) July 30, 2022
Francisco burst on the scene with the Bisons as a 23-year-old callup from Double-A Akron the final week of the season in 2005 on a veteran-laden Buffalo team that won an IL North Division title. He batted .434 in nine games, four in the regular season and a five-game playoff loss to Indianapolis, and it foreshadowed big things the next two years for the California native and former UCLA standout.
"That first series was an eye-opening experience for me," Francisco said. "That team was really, really good. A lot of really good people, a lot of guys that probably could have been in the big leagues. I was a young kid coming up there. I remember just getting my feet wet. I hadn't even been to big-league (spring) camp yet. That was my first kind of taste of being around big league players and I learned a lot about how they went about their business."
Francisco became a standout the next two seasons for the Bisons under manager Torey Lovullo, whom he's now joining in the Buffalo Hall. Francisco was the Herd's co-MVP in 2006 after batting .278 with 17 homers and 59 RBIs while playing 134 of the club's 143 games. He put together a 25-game hitting streak that remains the second longest in the club's modern era in '06 and won the IL batting title in 2007 after hitting .318 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs in 95 games around stints in Cleveland.
"In Triple-A, you're so close (to the big leagues) and that's what struck me," Francisco said. "I learned so much from those guys. I remember talking to (catcher) Tim Laker and (infielder) Lou Merloni, those type of veteran players, just about how to be professional. Torey was a big influence on my career as well. When I was able to get my shot in Cleveland, those conversations definitely helped."
Francisco finished his Buffalo career with a .292 average and his .320 mark at Sahlen Field is fourth highest in the modern era. He was an IL postseason All-Star in 2007.
Ben Francisco, right, races ahead of teammates Jamey Carroll and Ryan Garko after Victor Martinez's two-run single in the ninth inning beat the Tampa Bay Rays on May 25, 2009.
Francisco credited Lovullo, a World Series-winning bench coach of the Boston Red Sox and now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, with making sure he understood the importance of consistency through the grind of a long season.
"That was a hallmark of my career, just being the same," Francisco said. "Just being able to be someone your manager can count on, your teammates can count on. Torey told me when you're the best player in a lineup, your teammates are counting on you and we need you to win. Just be consistent.
"I played almost every game in '06 and I was like, 'What do I need to do?' He would say, 'No days off, just keep grinding. Grind through it. Keep playing.' It turned out I had a long hitting streak and I was just learning how to be a professional and showed up ready to play at seven o'clock no matter how you're feeling or what happened the night before."
Those talks prepared Francisco to help a 2007 Cleveland team that featured former Bisons Peralta, Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner and got within one win of the World Series before losing in Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS.
"You get to the big leagues, you see Grady and Victor and Hafner and all those guys and you see how much it matters every day and how much being ready matters," he said. "Definitely the experience of Triple-A in Buffalo was a big thing for me when I got to the big leagues."
Big league memories
Francisco played a strong outfield and stole 48 bases with the Bisons, turning that into a 563-game MLB career with six teams from 2007-2013. He spent 460 of those with either Cleveland or Philadelphia, where he was traded along with pitcher Cliff Lee in a major deal in 2009. Francisco hit .253 with 50 big-league home runs. Since retiring in 2014, Francisco has done scouting work for the Los Angeles Angels and is now involved in outfield and baserunning coaching through their system.
He played 121 games for Cleveland in 2008, mostly as the starting left fielder, and finished at .266-15-54. It was more of the same the next year with totals of .257-15-46 in 126 games between the Indians and Phillies.
PHILADELPHIA — Back in April, former Buffalo Bisons star Ben Francisco became the answer to a trivia question when he scored the first run in the new Yankee Stadium. He told me after that game he didn’t realize the significance until his phone was flooded with text messages when he came into the clubhouse. Of course, Francisco was with
Francisco had some unique career highlights, including scoring the first run in the new Yankee Stadium on its Opening Day in 2009. His first MLB home run was a walk-off shot in the bottom of the ninth to give the Indians a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on June 29, 2007, in a game that was his first start at home in the big leagues.
"My dad, my best friend and his dad all flew out and it was a dream come true that day," Francisco said. "I'd spent time in Jacobs Field in the winter development program but seeing it filled up with fans and really rocking at that time was so cool for me. I got a slider with two strikes (from Tampa Bay's Shawn Camp), I hit it out and I'm running the bases like I was on cloud nine and the crowd is going crazy. My phone had like 200 texts on it. I'm all over ESPN that night and the next morning. It's an experience and a memory I'll never forget."
Francisco was the starter in left field and went 0 for 3 for the Phillies in the clinching sixth game of the '09 World Series in Yankee Stadium and although being on the losing side hurt, he understood the magnitude of the moment.
"That's what we all dream about as kids, right? Getting to play in the World Series and hopefully winning. But being in Yankee Stadium was pretty amazing, too," he said. "It's New York. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are out there singing before the game. Fans are going nuts. It's cold but you're in awe of everything. I'm playing against Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, and we've got Pedro Martinez and Cliff Lee and all the guys we had. So much talent on the field. Blessed and lucky to be a part of it."
His biggest hit? Easy. A three-run pinch homer to left that broke a scoreless tie and gave the Phillies a 3-2 win at St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2011 National League Divisional Series.
Francisco took a high fastball from Jaime Garcia deep to left to provide the key hit in the last postseason game the Phillies have won. Since losing that series in five games, they have not been back to the postseason.
"I got it on the barrel, a hard line drive, but it was in the gap and you didn't know if it was going to get out," Francisco recalled. "It got over the fence and I remember just the noise and the celebration from my teammates. There wasn't a home run trot. It was a home run sprint around the bases. I just remember seeing how happy they were for me. You don't forget that feeling.
"That team was so close. Those guys all still tell me to this day that was about the loudest they've ever seen the dugout. To come up big for those guys who had been battle-tested, won a World Series (in 2008) and contribute for them in the playoffs, I was relieved and honored to be able to share that with those guys."
Since his retirement, Francisco has served as a scout for the Los Angeles Angels -- including a trip to Japan to chime in thoughts on Shohei Ohtani while the Angels were scouting him -- and is currently an organizational baserunning and outfield instructor.
Forever Enshrined in the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame - Ben Francisco! pic.twitter.com/ZeJdo6DQH2
— Buffalo Bisons🦬 (@BuffaloBisons) July 30, 2022
Rundown on the class
This is an excellent class, the first to feature three inductees since 2015 (Chris Coste, Greg LaRocca, Kevin Lester). The Bisons were disappointed that Peralta, who lives in the Dominican Republic, did not respond to their inquiries about accepting the award but he will be given his honor anyway. Only Peralta and former first baseman Richie Sexson have ghosted the club when it inquired about a Hall of Fame honor.
Patterson, now 63, went 12-6 as a starter for the Herd in 1989 but is best remembered for his role as the starter in the Pilot Field inaugural on April 14, 1988, when he threw 8 1/3 shutout innings against the Denver Zephyrs – and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Buffalo won the game, 1-0, on a home run by catcher Tom Prince, who was inducted into the Hall in 2004.
Patterson pitched 559 games in the big leagues from 1985-1998 for five teams, all but 21 in relief. One forgotten point about Patterson's role in the opening of Pilot Field was he only pitched four games in 1988, going 2-0. He hurt his shoulder a couple of weeks after the opener and missed the rest of the season but bounced back to have a huge year in '89 that propelled him to the big leagues for good. The Pirates converted him to a full-time reliever the next spring and he played a key role on three straight NL East championship teams.
Wither the Hall?
Fans attending games this year have noticed that the Hall of Fame Room by Section 107, which featured the Hall plaques and other mementos of Buffalo baseball history, has been covered up and is not open. It was taken over by the Toronto Blue Jays for merchandise storage last season and is now being used as a security room, as mandated by MLB in its licensing agreement with minor-league teams.
The Bisons are pondering a new location for the Hall for 2023 and they need to make sure it gets done so history gets some due. The lack of concourse displays and photos honoring Buffalo's baseball past is a glaring weakness of Sahlen Field that needs to be addressed.
Good luck finding any pictures of Lovullo, Jeff Manto, Terry Collins, Luke Easter, Opening Day in 1988 or Blue Jays games from the last two years anywhere where fans roam. It's always been an omission that's been hard to figure.
