Mike Hessman Sets Minor League Home Run Record With No. 433

Hessman thanked the followers and the Mud Hens, the triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, for his or her help and stated he was relieved the search was over.

Hessman has played in a total of 109 major league games for the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets over the past 12 years, according to The Associated Press, but hasn’t gotten a call-up since 2010.

Hessman reached the actual mark in style, hitting a grand slam to break a tie on the career list with Buzz Arlett, who played in the minors from 1918 to 1937. Primarily a third baseman in the field, Hessman was a powerful presence in the lineup right from the start in minor league baseball. “It’s up there at the top with them”, Hessman said.

Now that he’s got the home run record, what’s next for Hessman?

The home run gave Toledo an 8-6 lead over Lehigh Valley, but the IronPigs rallied for two runs the following frame and defeated the Mud Hens, 10-8, in 11 innings. At the rookie ball, he hit for a. 218 average, struck out more than three times as often as he walked, and hit just one home run. He played 19 games that season and 29 the year after that. He would also earn the honor of worldwide League MVP that year.

“My first main league hit was a house run”.

“I never played the game to chase records”, said Hessman, holding a bottle of congratulatory champagne as teammates cheered him in the Mud Hens clubhouse afterward. With the season not over yet, Hessman has a chance to add to the 433 he’s already hit in his polarizing career. With no other active players even close, and the direction professional baseball is moving with players either moving up to the majors or hanging up the spikes early, Hessman’s home run record might stand the test of time.

The house run, which went far past the left-center subject wall Monday, was his 16th this season.