Mike Hessman played baseball for the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2007 he had led the International League in home runs (31) and RBIs (110), and was named the International League’s MVP. He started playing professional baseball in 1996 when he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball draft. Hessman eventually played parts of five seasons in the Majors, with the Braves in 2003-04, the Detroit Tigers in 2007-08, and the New York Mets in 2010, mostly coming up in the fall for “a cup of coffee.” He also played the 2011 season in Japan with the Orix Buffaloes, and played Mexican League winter ball in 2014.
However, Hessman is best known for his minor league career. He played in the minors from 1996-2015, one of the longest minor league careers ever. In August 2015, Hessman was playing for the Toledo Mud Hens when he hit his 433rd career minor league home run. This broke the 78-year-old US minor league record that had been set by Buzz Arlett of the Oakland Oaks in 1937. Hessman is one of only four American minor leaguers to have hit over 400 home runs.
United States