Michael Steven Hessman (born March 5, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

. He is currently a hitting coach for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

. He played in MLB for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

. Hessman holds the all-time record for

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

home runs, when he hit his 259th on June 30, 2014, breaking Ollie Carnegie's record set in 1945. In 2015, he broke

Buzz Arlett Russell Loris Arlett (January 3, 1899 – May 16, 1964), also known as Buzz Arlett, was an American baseball player, sometimes called "the Babe Ruth of the minor leagues." Like Ruth, Arlett was a large man, and , who began his career as a pitch ...

's record for the most career minor league home runs, hitting his 433rd on August 3, 2015. In 2018, Hessman was inducted into the

International League Hall of Fame The International League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the International League (IL). It was created by the International League Baseball Writers' Association in 1947 to honor t ...

for his accomplishments and the Toledo Mud Hens where he played a majority of his professional career retired his number 27.

Professional career

Hessman was originally drafted out of Mater Dei High School in the 15th round (452nd overall) by the

in the 1996 MLB draft. He spent eight years in the Braves organization before making his Major League debut on August 22, 2003. His first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

was a

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

on August 26, 2003, off

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Mike Stanton. Hessman signed a minor league contract with the

on January 7, 2005. He played for the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate, the

, for the whole season, and helped them win the

championship for the first time in 38 years. Hessman batted .214 with 28 home runs and 74 RBI. He spent the entire 2006 season with the Mud Hens, contributing to the Mud Hens' second consecutive Governors' Cup. Though he hit 24 home runs that season, he batted just .165. Hessman played 117 games for the Mud Hens in 2007, and hit .254 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. On June 1, he hit his 68th career home run with the Mud Hens, breaking Erve Beck's 107-year old franchise record. Hessman also appeared in 17 games with the Tigers in 2007, hitting .235 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI. On August 28, 2007, Hessman was named the International League Most Valuable Player, and joined Phil Hiatt (1996),

Tim Teufel Timothy Shawn Teufel (born July 7, 1958) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and coach. He played Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the New York Mets, with whom he won a world championship in . He ...

(1983), and Joe Lis (1976) as the only Mud Hens to win the award. Hessman began the 2008 season with Toledo. On July 16, 2008, he was named to the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. Despite missing an entire month of the minor league season, Hessman hit 34 home runs for the Mud Hens in 2008. He also appeared in 12 games for the Tigers, and hit .296 with five home runs and seven RBI. On September 4, 2009, Hessman played all nine positions while with the Mud Hens. He started at catcher and ended as the pitcher, blowing the save and taking the loss. In total, he hit .217 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI in 2009, and became a free agent at the end of the season. On December 8, 2009, Hessman signed a minor league deal with the

. The Mets assigned Hessman to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, where he hit .274 with 18 home runs and 58 RBI in 64 games. He also appeared in 32 games for the Mets in 2010, mostly as a pinch-hitter, and batted .127 with one home run and six RBI. On November 10, 2010, Hessman was outrighted by the Mets, but refused the assignment and became a free agent. Hessman signed with the

for the 2011 season. He appeared in 48 games for Orix, batting .192 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI. In 2012, Hessman played with the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Triple-A affiliate of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, and hit .231 with 35 home runs and 78 RBI in 123 games. In late November 2012, the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

signed Hessman to a minor league deal. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, and played the entire 2013 season with the team, batting .240 with 25 home runs and 56 RBI. Hessman rejoined the Tigers organization in late 2013, and on June 30, 2014, while playing with Toledo, hit his 259th International League home run, setting the career record for that league. Hessman hit .248 in 116 games with Toledo that season, along with 28 home runs and 64 RBI. In the offseason, he played in 14 games for the

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua () is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares in Maracay. The team ...

of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

, as well as 6 games for the

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league championships and two Caribbean World Series in and . The team was founded in 19 ...

of the Mexican Pacific Winter League. On August 3, 2015, while playing for the Mud Hens, Hessman hit his 433rd career home run – a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

– off

Dustin McGowan Dustin Michael McGowan (born March 24, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays ...

of the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, setting a new minor league baseball record for the most home runs in a career, surpassing the 78-year-old record set by

of the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

in 1937. Hessman is one of only six players in history to hit over 400 home runs in the minor leagues. On November 28, 2015, Hessman announced his retirement.

Coaching career

On December 3, 2015, Hessman was named the hitting coach for the Short-Season A

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play ...

for the 2016 season. He was named the hitting coach for the Class A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

for the 2017 season, and coached the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the regular season. In 2018, Hessman was the hitting coach for the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

. Hessman served as a hitting coach for the

beginning with the 2019 season. On June 12, 2021, Hessman was promoted to assistant hitting coach for the

. Hessman went back to being the hitting coach for the Toledo Mud Hens in the beginning of the 2023 season.

References

External links

Mud Hens pageMinor league baseball page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hessman, Mike 1978 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Fountain Valley, California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Danville 97s players Danville Braves players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers players Greenville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Gulf Coast Mets players Louisville Bats players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Minor league baseball coaches Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New York Mets players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Orix Buffaloes players Richmond Braves players Toledo Mud Hens players International League MVP award winners American expatriate baseball players in Australia