in previous editions.
It should come as no surprise that the man once commonly referred to as “King” by his teammates and fans remains perched on the home run throne in the Minor Leagues.
Mike Hessman played 19 seasons in the Minors, clobbered a towering 433 homers to set himself apart from the countless other sluggers who have played in affiliated ball in the United States. He split his career across the Braves, Tigers, Mets, Astros and Reds systems.
The road to the top began in 1996, when Hessman was drafted by Atlanta in the 15th round out of baseball-powerhouse Mater Dei High School in California. He got his first taste of professional ball later that summer, when he appeared in 53 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and, ironically, homered just once.