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There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. 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! Emmitt Smith College Jersey . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. John Brantley College Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. http://www.cheapfloridajerseys.com/. Better still, its in the same team and there are 13 races left for it to develop. Throwback Florida Jerseys . Marek Hamsik, who had earlier missed a penalty, headed Napoli in front in the 23rd minute and Pandev added a second goal five minutes from halftime. Alessandro Matri got Juventus back into the game just after the break but Pandev was on hand to score again in the 68th. Brandon Spikes College Jersey . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay.Sunderland’s survival was confirmed with a game to spare following their 3-0 win over Everton at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday. That hadnt seemed likely in November when the Black Cats had capitulated 6-2 against the same opposition to leave them with six points from the first 11 games.But Sam Allardyce used the transfer window to great effect with the signings of Lamine Kone, Wahbi Khazri and Jan Kirchhoff proving pivotal. Sunderland safe as Toon drop Sunderland secured their Premier League status with a 3-0 victory over Everton. I think the contribution of the players we got in January was really big for this team to come out of trouble, Allardyce told Sky Sports after the game. Heres why…Lamine KoneKone was the goalscoring hero on the night with two of Sunderlands three goals and the first of which was a strike that Jermain Defoe would have been proud of - the 27-year-old Ivorian blasting the ball beyond Joel Robles to settle the nerves at the Stadium of Light.But its defensively that Kone has had the biggest impact. Sunderland have lost only 21 per cent of the games that the centre-back has played this season compared to 64 per cent without him - and the key to that has been the teams improved defensive solidity. Sam Allardyce talks to Sky Sports after securing Sunderlands safety In the 14 games prior to Kones inclusion in the line-up, Allardyces side conceded an average of more than two goals per game - 30 in total. In the 14 games hes started since, Sunderland have let in only 14 goals.With Kone coming in, were becoming a team thats very difficult to break down, Allardyce told Sky Sports. And thats giving us a platform to win games.Jan KirchhoffKirchhoffs impact wasnt quite so immediate. He endured a woeful debut against Tottenham, appearing ill-prepared for the speed and physicality of the Premier League. But the £750,000 signing from Bayern Munich adapted quickly in a holding midfield role. Kirchhoffs tackling Jan Kirchhoff has averaged 4.2 tackles per 90 minutes, more than any other Sunderland player this season. Its like playing with a third centre-back, Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. Hes made a massive difference in there. The statistics support that view with Kirchhoff having more touches per game and making more tackles per game than any other Sunderland player. Jan Kirchhoff was delighted after Sunderlands 3-0 win against Everton I just love the way he plays, said former Sunderland forward Niall Quinn.dddddddddddd He doesnt shirk any responsibility, he makes the tackles if they need to be made. He does that hard side of the game really well and hes a stylish player.Allardyce agreed when discussing the player with Carragher and Quinn afterwards. He explained: In midfield weve got stronger. Jan Kirchhoff coming in and sitting and intercepting has kept the pressure off the back four. Wahbi Khazri scored a stunning goal against Chelsea and has had a big impact Wahbi KhazriFor all the platform provided by Kone and Kirchhoff, Defoe still needed help at the other end of the pitch if Sunderland were to score the goals to take them to safety. Invention was lacking and Khazri was the man who helped to deliver it. Sunderland chances created Player Chances created per 90 Wahbi Khazri 2.3 Yann MVila 1.3 Sebastian Larsson 1.3 Jeremain Lens 1.3 The former Bordeaux winger was the last of the trio to arrive but he soon became a fan favourite. Khazri has created more chances per game than any other Sunderland player. The end product was there when it mattered too. It was Khazris stunning goal against Chelsea last weekend that helped to spark Sunderland to life in the 3-2 victory at the Stadium of Light. Four days on and the teams safety was confirmed, thanks in no small part to three huge January signings. 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