Mike Hessman

Mike Hessman
Orix Buffaloes — No. 5
Third baseman
Born: March 5, 1978 (1978-03-05) (age 33) Fountain Valley, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 22, 2003 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through 2010)
Batting average	.188
Home runs	14
Runs batted in	33
Teams
Atlanta Braves (2003–2004) Detroit Tigers (2007–2008) New York Mets (2010) Orix Buffaloes (2011)

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's baseball
Bronze	2008 Beijing	Team

Michael Steven Hessman (born March 5, 1978, in Fountain Valley, California) is a third baseman who plays for the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. He led all active minor league players in most home runs with 329 until his callup on July 26, 2010.^[1]

Hessman was originally drafted right out of Mater Dei High School in the 15th round (452nd overall) by the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft.^[2]

Hessman spent eight years in the Braves organization before finally making his major league debut on August 22, 2003. His first major league hit was a pinch-hit home run on August 26, 2003, off New York Mets pitcher Mike Stanton.^[3]

He signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers on January 7, 2005. He played for the Tigers' Triple-A team, the Toledo Mud Hens for the whole season. He hit 28 home runs, one every 16.89 at bats, and helped the Mud Hens win the Governors' Cup, the trophy awarded to the International League champion.

In 2006, Hessman would again spend the whole season with the Mud Hens, hitting 24 home runs, one every 14.38 at-bats, but only batting .165 for the season, as the Mud Hens won the second of their back-to-back International League championships.

In 2007, Hessman began the year for the Mud Hens again, and on June 1 hit his 68th home run as a Mud Hen, becoming Toledo's all time home run leader, passing Erve Beck. Hessman had his contract purchased by the Tigers on July 23, marking the first time he had been on a Major League roster since 2004. He had already hit 27 home runs for the Mud Hens, one every 13.19 at-bats. He had led the International League in home runs at the time of his call-up.^{[citation needed]}

Hessman led the International League in both home runs (31) and RBIs (110), and on August 28, 2007, was named the 2007 International League's Most Valuable Player, the first Mud Hen to receive the award since 1996.^[4]

Hessman was a member of the Tigers organization again in 2008, and spent the beginning of the season in Toledo. On July 16, 2008, Hessman was named to the United States national baseball team for the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[5] Hessman still ended up hitting 34 home runs for the Hens despite missing a month for the Olympics. Hessman was called up by Detroit on September 2, and played in 12 games for the Tigers, hitting .296 with 5 home runs. On September 4, 2009, Hessman played all nine positions while with the Toledo Mud Hens. He started at catcher and ended as the pitcher, blowing a save and picking up a loss. In October 2009, Hessman became a free agent.

On December 8, 2009, Hessman signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.^[6]

On July 26, 2010, he was called up to replace Rod Barajas, who strained his right oblique. He spent the remainder of the season with the Mets, but played in only 32 games.

On November 10, 2010, Hessman and Omir Santos refused their minor league assignment and then became free agents.^[7] Hessman would later sign with the Orix Buffaloes for the 2011 season.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ 1996 Draft Results - 15th Round
3. ^ August 26, 2003 New York Mets at Atlanta Braves Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com
4. ^ International League: News: Article
5. ^ "Future Tigers, Indians Olympians; Hens won't have Hessman, Neal". Toledo Blade. July 17, 2008. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/SPORTS09/807170419. Retrieved 2008-07-17. 
6. ^ Rubin, Adam. Breaking news: Mets sign player, New York Daily News. Published December 8, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
7. ^ [2]

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• Mud Hens page
• Minor league baseball page

Persondata
Name	Hessman, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 5, 1978
Place of birth	Fountain Valley, California
Date of death
Place of death