A Match Made in New Jersey: Bisons to play as Trenton Thunder

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of strange things to happen in the world of sports, and here’s another one to add to the list: The Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, will play their 2021 home games as the Trenton Thunder, former Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Bisons will play as the Bisons when they’re on the road, but when they’re at their home away from home in Trenton, New Jersey, they’ll play in full Thunder uniforms.

To put it succinctly, noted Blue Jays fan and founder of this site Chris Creamer said, “I get to see my future Blue Jays in AA Yankees uniforms.”

The move was forced by a series of dominoes that starts with COVID-19 restrictions that prevent the Blue Jays from playing at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Last season, with the Minor League Baseball season canceled, the Blue Jays played all of their home games in Buffalo, but with Triple-A baseball starting in early May this year, the teams needed to make other arrangements. Toronto is playing its early home games at their Spring Training complex in Dunedin, Florida, while Sahlen Field in Buffalo is being upgraded and renovated. When the renovations are complete, the Blue Jays will move to Buffalo until they’re able to return to Toronto.

Meanwhile, The Thunder, who surprisingly lost their affiliated status in the recent shakeup of Minor League Baseball, were preparing for their first season at the collegiate summer level in the new MLB Draft League. That collegiate summer team will find another home while the Bisons-turned-Thunder take over Trenton.

The Triple-A Bisons-Thunder will play their first game May 4, when they take on the Worcester Red Sox, or WooSox, who will be making their debut after leaving Pawtucket at the end of the 2019 season. No word on whether the Bisons will import their Beef on Weck from Buffalo or if they’ll subsist on Taylor Pork Roll in New Jersey.