Hessman powering his way through the record books

He's been a fan favorite at Fifth Third Field for his skill of hitting the baseball and clearing the bases with one swing. Mike Hessman returns to the Mud Hens lineup in 2014 after playing five successful seasons in Toledo from 2005 to 2009, including the back-to-back Governors' Cup championship teams in 2005 and 2006.

MIKE HESSMAN CAREER STATISTICS

With each hit, RBI and round-tripper Hessman will be getting closer to making minor league history in a variety of ways:

- Hessman has 244 career home runs in the International League, 14 away from the all-time IL mark set by Ollie Carnegie (pictured below), who hit 258 homers with Buffalo from 1931-1942. Hessman's IL totals include time spent with Richmond from 2002-2004, Buffalo in 2010 and Louisville in 2013.

- Mike is the current active minor league home run king with 389 career minor league homers. Only seven players have ever reached the 400 mark, headed by Hector Espino's 484.

- His 373 RBIs with Toledo is 15 shy of Bobby Veach's all-time Toledo record of 388.

- His 474 hits in a Mud Hens uniform is 46 away from the Toledo modern era (1965-present) record set by Wayne Comer with 520.

- Mike already tops the Toledo all-time career home run list with 140, with Ryan Raburn a distant second at 67.

- Hessman already owns the modern era records for runs scored with 326, RBIs with 373, and doubles with 104.