Former Bisons Director Tom Burns and I had a meeting in March of 2004, and he told me that he had hired a new assistant. "His name is Brad Bisbing, and he is ONE COOL GUY!" said Burns. We knew the name from radio - Brad had worked at WGR and was the guy who did the scores on the 20 minute breaks. Now he would be joining the Bisons PR staff.
Two months into the season Burns was gone, and the entire weight of the department's function fell onto Brad's shoulders. He hunkered down and was true to the challenge. By 2005 Brad was given the title of "Public Relations Coordinator" -- and no assistant. He would now have to rely on a crew of interns to assist him in getting the job done. But you never heard him complaining, because that's the kind of guy he is.
Brad's duties go far beyond media relations. He works closely with the game night entertainment staff, the field crew, the General Manager, and pretty much is part of most aspects of the behind the scenes game operation. When the team is on the road, he is back home keeping track of the games, compiling data and putting in some very long hours.
We deal with him from the media standpoint, and the Bisons could not have picked a better spokesman for the team. He is friendly, cheery and upbeat, eager to assist, and when attending Bisons games at Dunn Tire Park in the pressbox, it is like one big happy family up there - the video guys, the official scorer, the regular beat writers and Brad all combining for an energetic and collegial environment.
When you get involved in baseball at the AAA level, you get used to "callups" to the big leagues. Players go up all the time, several of our recent Bisons Managers, including Eric Wedge, moved on to coaching duties at the parent club, and even our play-by-play guy, Jim Rosenhaus, is getting his chance to be a radio announcer in Cleveland. Perhaps someday the "callup" will come to Brad Bisbing... a chance to do media relations for a big league team. Any team who gets him will be lucky to have him!
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