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There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. Esa Tikkanen 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 Blue 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 Blue 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! Wayne Gretzky Jersey . - The Seattle Seahawks have signed nine players to 2014 future contracts, including quarterback B. Grant Fuhr Jersey .C. -- LeBron James called comments on an audio recording of a man identified as Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling "appalling" and said hes not sure if he would suit up for the remainder of the NBA playoffs if he played for the Clippers. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/benoit-pouliot-jersey/ . Bell Medias 12-year partnership with the Ottawa Senators includes five major components: - English-language regional television broadcast rights for TSN – a minimum of 52 regular season and pre-season games - French-language regional television broadcast rights for RDS – a minimum of 40 regular season and pre-season games - English-language broadcast rights for TSN Radio 1200 – all games - French-language radio broadcast rights – all games - Telecommunications and retail sponsorship and activation rights "We recognized early on that our regional broadcast rights coming up for renewal was a very important asset," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. ORLANDO, Fla. -- Entering free agency this off-season Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan predicted only minor, not major tinkering with his roster unless there was a piece he and his staff felt like they had to have. Initially, the shedding of veterans Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo seemed to be an abrupt shift away from that plan and toward youth. But with the addition of Ben Gordon last week and official signing of free agent veteran shooter Channing Frye on Monday, Hennigan said he is happy with how the summer is playing out. "I think it would be a problem if we said we didnt like it," Hennigan said of the Magics current roster. "Were excited with where were at. Weve still got a lot of work to do -- were fully aware of that -- but we do think were heading in the right direction." In the 6-foot-11 Frye, that direction instantly gains an eight-year veteran and proven long-distance shooter with the ability to spread out defences -- a coveted commodity in the NBA. He sat out the 2012-13 season after being diagnosed with an enlarged heart, and went through an intense eight-month stretch that included him wearing a heart monitor and having closely monitored activity in which he was only able to do minimal exercise. But he eventually worked his way back to the court, and played all 82 games for the first time in his career last season. "When somethings taken away from you, you just take step back, and you really appreciate it," Frye said. "Its not so much a job. This is a blessing and opportunity. When or lose, Im always going to have a smile on my face, because any moment this can be taken away." Frye, who spent the last four seasons in Phoenix, said he had intterest from about 14 teams this summer. Mark Fayne Jersey. . In the end, getting a longer term deal and wanting to be a part of the Magics rebuilding process trumped signing a one- or two-year contract with a contender. Fryes deal is for four years and will play the 31-year-old about $32 million. "I think the Magic pretty much made themselves at the top of my list early on," he said. "They were the first people to call, and that means a lot." Hell also to play alongside and mentor his cousin, Magic forward Tobias Harris. It will allow Frye to step into the shoes of Grant Hill, whom he credits with being one of his biggest mentors. "I think in Phoenix we never get any respect," Frye said. "I dont listen to anybody about what were going to be next year or what our record might be. Because most of the time they dont know what theyre talking about...Its a challenge and Im ready to step up." Along with Fryes signing Monday, the Magic also announced a minor deal with Chicago in which they acquired the contract of forward Anthony Randolph, two future second-round draft picks (in 2015 and 2016) and cash considerations in exchange for the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic. The rights to Rakovic, who has played his entire career overseas, were originally acquired from Dallas in 2007. Orlando intends to waive Randolph. The Magic are still safely under the salary cap, but Hennigan said there may be a few minor pieces yet to add before training camp. "We always may have something up our sleeve. But I would think this probably serves as the bulk of what well be doing this summer," he said. "But I think we probably have a few other things to get done." 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