Mike Hessman breaks MiLB home run record with No. 433, announcer goes bonkers

Hessman breaks MiLB HR record, announcer goes wild

By Matt Monagan

August 4, 2015

The casual baseball fan may not know much about Mike Hessman. He's played just 109 games over five different seasons with the Braves, Tigers and Mets -- tallying 14 career home runs in 250 plate appearances and a .188/.272/.422 batting line. The last time he appeared in the Majors was back in 2010.

But in the Minor Leagues, Hessman is a home run-mashing folk hero. Entering his 19th season this year with more than 2,000 games under his belt, the 37-year-old Toledo Mud Hen had 417 MiLB long balls. And entering Monday's game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the first baseman was looking for No. 433 -- MiLB's all-time record. With the bases loaded, Hessman uncorked a mammoth shot over the left-field fence and the announcer nearly pulled a muscle in his throat:

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MLB.com's Lindsay Berra recently caught up with the humble slugger to talk about his career:

"The media comes up and wants to talk about it. A lot of fans in Toledo know about it and talked to me and encouraged me walking into the ballpark. Obviously, it's nice they follow along, and I appreciate that," Hessman said recently. "But I can never tell you what record is coming up or how many home runs I have. I've just never paid attention to that stuff."

The record-setting shot broke Buzz Arlett's 68-year-old record (read more about Arlett's wonderfully-odd career here) and, of course, puts him in the conversation for one of the greatest Minor League players ever.