There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. Nike Air Jordan 1 Shoes Outlet . 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! Buy Cheapest Air Jordan 1 . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Free Shipping .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. http://www.wholesaleairjordan1.com/ .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. ATLANTA -- The Indiana Pacers always seem to struggle in Atlanta. This was no exception. Kyle Korver scored 17 points, Pero Antic added 16 and the Hawks raced to a big lead before holding off the team with the NBAs best record, beating the weary Pacers 97-87 Wednesday night. The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak and extended Indianas misery at Philips Arena, where the Pacers (28-7) havent won since 2006. They dropped their 12th in a row in Atlanta, the teams longest active road losing streak against any team. "Guys didnt have a lot of pop to start the game," coach Frank Vogel said. "Shots werent falling, catches were a step slow in a lot of areas. But Im proud of our guys for battling back in the second half, making it a game." Indiana looked very much like a squad playing its fourth game in five nights, not to mention having to deal with travel issues because of the arctic weather. The Pacers managed just 12 points in the first quarter and 32 in the opening half -- both season lows. Paul George led Indiana with 28 points. He didnt get much help. "This is definitely a winnable game for us, but its a tough stretch, four out of five, travel situations that we had," George said. "Its not an excuse, but its nothing to be down about at this point." The Hawks ended Indianas three-game winning streak, handing the Pacers just their second loss in 10 games. "We were playing a great team," said Antic, who scored 12 of his 16 in the first half. "We want to prove to everybody that we can win these type of games." Atlanta took advantage of their sluggish opponents right from the start, racing to a 12-0 lead before most of the sparse crowd had settled into their seats. The Hawks built a 49-32 lead by halftime and were up by as many 25 in the third quarter. "Down 12 points to start the game off, you give a team like this all the confidence in the world, them playing at home," George said. "They just played with confidence at that point. I felt like thats where we lost the game." But the Eastern Conference leaders, whho never led, werent about to go that easily. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Authentic. They clamped down at the defensive end against a team that must spread things around to make up for the loss of centre Al Horford, out with a season-ending injury. The Pacers picked it up offensively, too, scoring more points in the third quarter than they did in the first two combined. Heading to the fourth, Atlantas lead was down to 79-66. The Pacers got as close as eight in the final period but finally ran out of steam, making only two of their last nine shots. "We were climbing uphill the rest of the way and werent able to pull it out." Vogel said. Indiana played without guard Lance Stephenson, who didnt dress because of a bruised right knee. Danny Granger started in his place, with George moving to Stephensons shooting guard spot. George lit up the Hawks, knocking down 11 of 25 from the field -- including three shots beyond the arc -- and leading the Pacers with 12 rebounds. Granger with 14 points and George Hill with 10 were his only teammates in double figures, however. The Hawks were much more balanced, overcoming a poor night by Paul Millsaps. Atlantas top scorer made only 1 of 10, but the other four starters were in double figures and Mike Scott added 15 off the bench. Atlanta got a boost before the game when Horford, who had surgery a week ago for a torn pectoral muscle, stopped by the locker room. "Were still trying to figure things out without Al," Korver said. "It takes time. Were still not there, but tonight was a great win for our team." NOTES: Korver went 3 of 5 from 3-point range, extending his NBA-record streak to 105 games in a row with at least one trey. He knocked down his first early in the third quarter from the top of the key, also drawing a foul and converting the four-point play. ... Pacers F David West went out in the second quarter with an injured right hand. He iced it on the bench and returned in the second half. ... While Millsaps struggled offensively, finishing with only four points, he chipped in with six rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. 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