Mike Hessman, who appeared in 32 games with the 2010 New York Mets, hit a grand slam last night for his 433rd career home run in affiliated minor league baseball. That broke an 80-year-old record held by Buzz Arlett.
Hessman, who is now 37, hopes to get into coaching after he retires at the end of this season.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Clay Rapada is catching up with his fan mail. Today I got back the 2007 Topps ’52 Rookies card that I sent to him at the beginning of spring training.
Rapada split the 2008 season between Detroit and Toledo. For the big league squad, he went 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 14 relief appearances. For the AAA Mud Hens, he went 0-1 with a 2.31 ERA in 28 relief outings.
The lefty made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs in 2007, but pitched only one game for them before being traded to Detroit as part of the package for outfielder Craig Monroe.
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