LOPERFIDO SETTLING IN FOR BISONS

by Tony Fiorello

An integral part of any sports team is having veterans around who have been there and done that to show the younger members of the roster how to acclimate themselves to life as a professional and how to win.

For the Buffalo Bisons, one of those guys is Joey Lopefido. Loperfido, a centerfielder who split last season between the parent club Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros, brings 81 games of big-league experience to Buffalo’s clubhouse and will be counted on by manager Casey Candaele to help the Herd win games.

“Joey Loperfido was in the big leagues last year and he’s a guy that I look to have a good season and kind of carry us,” Candaele said. “He can do some things that are pretty impressive and that will help us win ball games.”

Rich Rumfola for Buffalo Sports Page

Candaele wasn’t kidding. Through 38 games Loperfido leads the team in at-bats, runs scored, hits, home runs and RBIs, and he credits his early in-season production to settling in quickly with his new team.

“Fortunately it's easy to get to know everybody from the guys that they drafted and brought in to the staff on both the minor league and major league side,” Loperfido said. “I think the Blue Jays do a good job of bringing in really high caliber people. So everybody from the guys up there last year and the guys here now, and everybody I met back in spring training made that transition pretty easy.”

One such example of Loperfido’s ability to adapt to new surroundings came in the Herd’s season opener back in March. In the bottom of the eight inning and the Bisons clinging to a three-run lead against Rochester, Loperfido homered on a fly ball to right centerfield to put the contest out of reach for Buffalo.

“On opening day it always feels good to win and take a couple of good swings,” Loperfido said. “I was looking for a fastball and I hadn't hit one in a little bit. So it felt good to get the first one with the guys.

“Some of the guys said if you can hit them out to left centerfield, that's probably your best bet to get one out of the ballpark. But I hit it and was like ‘Oh come on, that one's got to go up’ and thankfully it did.”

Candaele liked what he saw from his new player that day.

“Baseball has a lot of momentum shifts, and if you can keep the opposition from getting it back then you can maintain the advantage of the game,” Candaele said. “Loperfido hitting the home run late in the game gave us that four-run lead, and it was big.”

Loperfido knows that if can keep up his level of play and stay consistent on an every-day basis, he’ll get a call-up from Toronto in no time.

“I think you just try and take care of your business every day and your work and your prep and your routines,” Loperfido said. “Obviously you're aware of the fact that you can get called up at any time. I think you just do your best to not really think about it and try and stack days like today on top of other days.

“If you can find a win here and there, stack them on top of each other and take care of business on your end, everything will kind of work out.”