Minor League Baseball

Blue Jays' Triple-A Manager Achieves History in Fifth Season in Buffalo

Casey Candaele's name is etched in the record books of the Buffalo Bisons.
Jami Leabow|
Casey Candaele was a coach in the Seattle Mariners organization before joining the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
Casey Candaele was a coach in the Seattle Mariners organization before joining the Toronto Blue Jays organization. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

There is a new No. 1 in Buffalo.

Casey Candaele became the winningest manager in the modern era of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Sunday with his team’s 5-4 win over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on Sunday.

It was his 313th Buffalo win. He has a 313-310 overall record in five seasons.

Candaele has served as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays’ top affiliate since the start of the 2021 season. He victory total surpasses that of Marty Brown , whose teams won 312 games from 2003-05 and in 2013.

The 64-year-old Candaele was an infielder/outfielder in the major leagues between 1986 and 1997, shuttling between the majors and minors in some seasons and playing for Montreal, Houston and Cleveland.

Player and a Manager

He played for Triple-A Buffalo in parts of the 1995-97 seasons, with his best campaign coming in 1996 when he hit .311 in 97 games for the then-Cleveland affiliate.

As a manager, he led the Bisons to the Triple-A East Northeast Division title in 2021. He became the first winner of a division title for the Bisons as both a player and a manager. Candaele was a member of Buffalo’s 1997 team that won the American Association East Division and league championship.

Candaele has been a coach in the Jays organization since 2018. He managed Single-A Dunedin in 2018, the High-A Vancouver Canadians in 2019 and later the Bisons. He was an interim coach with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002.

Before joining the Blue Jays, he coached in the Seattle Mariners organization.

Former players teamed to send him a message in a celebratory video.

“Congrats on the most wins in Buffalo history,” said Blue Jays infielder/outfielder Davis Schneider, who played parts of three seasons under Candaele with the Bisons. “One of my favorite managers to play for. Your work ethic, your treatment of players, it's one of the best and the reason why every player loves playing for you.”

The Bisons will open a six-game home series against Triple-A Scranton/Wikes-Barre on Tuesday.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

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