There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. [url=http://www.authenticbaseshopathletics.com/Tony-Phillips-Jersey/]Ton y Phillips Jersey[/url] . Mike Hessman of the Toledo Mudhens needs one more homer to break the all-time International League career home run mark. Before you say "

There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. Tony Phillips Jersey . Mike Hessman of the Toledo Mudhens needs one more homer to break the all-time International League career home run mark. Before you say "big deal" as I was tempted to do, you should know who Mike Hessman is and how he made this journey over a long and varied career. First off he was born in Fountain Valley, California, and grew into the dimensions of a true slugger. He is 65" and 215 pounds. He was chosen in the 15th round of the 1996 MLB draft by Atlanta. He made it to the "Show" with the Braves in 2003. He had a long looping swing and struck out too much and generally over a short-lived big league career, the 3B/1B also seemed to be stuck behind better players such as Chipper Jones. Besides Atlanta, Hessman also made pit stops in Detroit and with the New York Mets between 2003 and 2010, hitting .188 with 14 home runs. Over time Hessman became a fixture in the International League. Now 36, he has slugged 258 homers in the "I" to tie the late Ollie Carnegie, who spent the bulk of his career playing in Buffalo. Carnegie played his final season with the Bisons in 1945. These two were a study in physical contrasts. While Hessman is 65", Carnegie was only 57" and weighed 175 pounds. Surely the Major League home run record is more impressive and more prestigious. Babe Ruth broke Roger Connors career mark of 138 back in 1921. The Bambino ran that total up to 714 by 1935, and that mark endured until Hank Aaron broke it on April 8, 1974 at Atlanta against Al Downing and the Dodgers. So Babe Ruth held the career home run record for 53 years. Carnegies mark of 258 has stood since the year he retired as a player in 1945. If you do the math, thats 69 years. Oddly enough Carnegie never played in the Majors, largely because he didnt start playing pro ball on a regular basis until he joined Buffalo at age 32 in 1931. Before that he played mainly semi-pro or amateur ball and held down a regular job. Nowadays 258 home runs doesnt sound like all that imposing a number. But remember today, its all about player development. If you dont make the Majors by your mid-20s or maybe late 20s if youre lucky, youre going to be out of a job. You have to have a special talent and be a unique individual, as Mike Hessman must be to stick around until the age of 36. Hessman had a bit of a scare about a week ago. He had to have some tissue removed from his nose and his forehead. Luckily it proved to be non-cancerous. He missed three games this week waiting for the swelling on his face to go down, then went 0-for-3 at Coca-Cola Field on Thursday afternoon. Friday night is the series finale at Buffalo and it would only seem fitting that he would hit his 259th homer in the city where Ollie Carnegie spent the bulk of his career and is enshrined in the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. When Hessman ultimately does break this record, he has other mountains to climb. He is also third on the all-time list of homers hit in the minors. Buzz Arlett is number one with 432, Nick Cullop has 420 and Hessman checks in with 403. Scoring Big Pitching and defence may win championships, but you cant deny the fact that the Jays offence could carry them a long way. Theyve scored 311 runs in 61 games and slugged 87 homers, tops in the American League in both categories. You can add the total home runs for the Royals and Yankees and get 77, 10 fewer than the Jays, or the Rangers and Red Sox and get 85, still two less than the Jays. In the runs scored category, the Jays have rung up 57 more than the second-best team in their division - Baltimore (254) - and then you drop off to Boston and the Yankees at 240 and Tampa Bay at a paltry 228. Boston was the runaway leader in runs scored in the American League last season with 853 and ultimately won the World Series. Im just saying. Unusual Moments This is something that happens so rarely in baseball, yet it happened twice in the last week. The Angels Garrett Richards and Clevelands Justin Masterson both struck out the side on nine pitches. Another oddity came on Wednesday when the Phillies 35-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins struck out four times in a game for the first time in his career, earning the famed "Golden Sombrero". The opposing pitcher though was Washingtons Stephen Strasburg, so well cut Rollins some slack. Rollins incidently is up to 2,226 hits now for his career. He needs nine more to pass Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as the Phillies all-time hits leader. Since the Phils are having such a dismal season, the feeling is growing that Rollins will waive his 10-and-5 rights and will agree to a trade once the record is broken. The Tigers would be a perfect fit. The Atlanta Braves lead the National League East. Yet strangely enough, they have been held to 0 or 1 runs in a game a Major League-high 18 times. At the Draft If youre wondering why the Blue Jays used their ninth-overall pick in the Draft Thursday night to take a pitcher who just had Tommy John surgery in May, consider this. Veteran baseball writer Danny Knobler has seen Jeff Hoffman out of East Carolina pitch and said this of him: "He could be Justin Verlanders brother". Say no more! Kendall Graveman Jersey . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. Santiago Casilla Jersey . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. http://www.authenticbaseshopathletics.com/Walt-Weiss-Jersey/ . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on the future of John Tortorella in Vancouver and Randy Carlyle in Toronto as well head as coaching candidates for Team Canada at the upcoming World Hockey Championship. John Tortorella admits the coaching swap - Tortorella for Vigneault - does not look good on him right now. Is he going to get a chance to redeem himself next year? LeBrun: I dont think so. Nothing has been officially decided but all indications lead to the fact the Canucks are likely headed for a separation with their head coach. Its going to be a costly one. He still has four years and $8 million left on the deal that he signed last summer. But hes never really been a great fit with this roster and I think hell pay the ultimate price for a very disappointing year in Vancouver. The more intriguing decision is with the GM, Mike Gillis. What will ownership do with him? Hes had a long run there and a lot of people think he deserves another year, at least, to redirect the ship but that decision has not been taken. What about the collapse in Toronto? Whos going to pay the price there? McKenzie: If the Maple Leafs miss the playoffs and theyre certainly trending in that direction, the expectation is that Randy Carlyle is the most vulnerable and the guy most likely to pay the price. General manager Dave Nonis has never fired a coach in his tenure in Toronto and he also never hired Carlyle. That was a Brian Burke hire. So the sense seems to be if the masses are crying for somebodys head, it would more likely be Carlyles than anybody elses. Dreger: Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment seems to be the wild card in all of this. Will he make a snap decision and try to force something? Well, Leiweke says there will be no knee-jerk decision between now and the end of the regular season, which obviously isnt that far away. Hes also well-schooled on the long term plans of Nonis and Leiweke is often around the players as well so if there are improvements that the players ffeel need to be made, hes going to know that and hell be heavily involved in the review process. Custom Oakland Athletics Jerseys. For the players who will be available come playoff time, the World Hockey Championship is coming up with Canada trying to earn its first medal since 2009. We know Rob Blake is leading the team from the management standpoint, who is his leading candidate for head coach? Dreger: Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes. But that all depends on whether or not the Coyotes qualify for the post-season. If Tippett is not available, Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators, Peter DeBoer of the New Jersey Devils and Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets (if their teams dont make playoffs) could be other options that Blake and company would consider. One-Timers LeBrun: There hadnt been any contact between Sergei Berezin, the agent for pending unrestricted free agent Andrei Markov and the Montrel Canadiens since the trade deadline but there has been now. Berezin told me on Tuesday that he met with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin in south Florida over the weekend and they had a very positive meeting. Berezin said they may not be as far apart as people think so theres some hope that before July 1, Markov may stay on. LeBrun: Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman met with Steven Bartlett, the agent for Ryan Callahan, who acquired from the New York Rangers, and said theyre not going to talk until the season is over but wanted to let Bartlett know that they want Callahan back. Theyre going to try and sign him. McKenzie: Look for the Calgary Flames to put a push on to sign Hobey Baker candidate Johnny Gaudreau, who plays at Boston College. Hes a diminutive but dynamic forward and one of the best players in college hockey. Hes playing in the Frozen Four right now but as soon as his season is over, Calgary will put the push on. If he goes back for his senior season, he could declare himself an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. The Flames would like to head that off by trying to get him signed to a contract this spring. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '