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Geregistreerd op: 10 Jul 2019
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 Geplaatst: 25-07-2019 03:07:48 Onderwerp: eriod by fini |
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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! Kevin Byard Titans Jersey . The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. Earl Campbell Womens Jersey . Fellow Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain also had a brace for Napoli. And Samuel Etoo scored for his fourth different team. On a night of standout individual performances Wednesday, Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand had a game hell want to forget. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-Marcus-Mariota-Titans-Jersey/ . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. A.J. Brown Jersey . A police inspector told The Associated Press the crane operator is not yet suspected of any wrongdoing but is considered a key witness to the accident at the Arena Corinthians. Bruce Matthews Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- To stay a step ahead of goaltenders, T.PHILADELPHIA -- There is no secret to Bostons road success. The Bruins play their system and play it well no matter where they play. Patrice Bergeron scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and also tallied in the shootout to help Boston to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. The Bruins have won nine straight road games, a single-season club record. "Just being smart, playing the system and not forcing plays," Bergeron said. "Every time we take whats there, we have success." Reilly Smith, the fifth Boston shooter, clinched the victory in the shootout for the Bruins, who ended March 15-1-1. "Thats pretty impressive," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Theyve stayed focused, theyve stayed humble, theyve stayed determined. Im very proud of the way weve handled this month." Vincent Lecavalier scored twice for the Flyers, including the game-tying goal with 25 seconds left in regulation. Lecavaliers first goal was the 400th of his career. "Ive always wanted to have a long career, but you dont come into the league saying, I want a certain amount of goals," Lecavalier said. "You come into the league saying, I want to win the Stanley Cup. I never even thought about 400. Now that it was today I was proud of it, but as a hockey player your goal is to win a Stanley Cup." Kimmo Timonen also scored for Philadelphia, which has lost three of four to remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division. "I thought our team competed real hard," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "They had an attitude today that they were going to show them something and I think they did. I know the outcome wasnt what we wanted, but we attacked and put a lot of pucks at the net." Andrej Meszaros and Zdeno Chara also scored, and Tuukka Rask made a career-high 49 saves for the Bruins. "They play their system to a T no matter what," Berube said. "They dont vary from it. Theyre a very competitive, heavy team." Bergeron scored to give Boston a 1-0 lead in the shootout and Claude Giroux, Philadelphias second shooter, tied it. But no other Flyers shooter scored. The Bruins last road setback came in overtime Feb. 26 at Buffalo, and they havent lost on the road in regulation since a Jan. 9 defeat at Los Angeles.dddddddddddd Lecavalier scored his second goal with 25 seconds left. With goalie Steve Mason on the bench, Philadelphia pressed into the Boston zone. Johnny Boychuk had a chance to clear the zone, but the puck bounced over his stick on a backhand clearing attempt and went right to Jakub Voracek. Rask contested Voracek, who passed in front to a wide-open Lecavalier. It looked as if Boston had it won in regulation. Boston erased a one-goal deficit with a pair of second-period goals. Chara scored on the power play 5:44 into the period. Jarome Iginla set Chara up for the goal with a pass in front of the net, and Chara wheeled to his backhand and lifted it past Mason to the far side of the net. Bergeron continued his torrid pace with a goal in his seventh straight game, this one with 8:55 left in the period to give the Bruins a 3-2 advantage. Bergeron whirled around from the left circle and his turnaround shot slipped under Masons pads. The Flyers led 2-1 after an action-packed first period. Lecavalier opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game by beating Rask with a slap shot from the point that dipped under Rasks glove. Meszaros, who the Flyers traded to the Bruins at the trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick, tied it just over five minutes later when his wrist shot from the slot got past Mason on the stick side after Philadelphia had trouble clearing the zone. Philadelphias Zac Rinaldo raised the excitement level with a hard check on Iginla with just over four minutes left in the period and the players subsequently were penalized for fighting in a one-sided affair in favour of Rinaldo. Timonen gave Philadelphia a one-goal lead with 41.7 seconds left in the period by finishing an cross-ice, back-handed pass from Voracek. Notes: The Bruins won eight straight on the road during the 1971-72 and 1992-93 seasons. . Lecavalier became the 90th player to reach 400 goals. . The Bruins are the only team in the NHL against which the Flyers have a sub-.500 record all-time in Philadelphia. . Steve Downie (upper body injury) missed his fourth straight game for the Flyers. . Boston improved to 2-0 against the Flyers this season, counting a 6-1 win at Philadelphia on Jan. 25. The teams will conclude the regular-season series at 1 p.m. Saturday in Boston. ' ' ' |
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