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Minor league baseball great's career end is near

TOLEDO, Ohio — Next to Mike Hessman's locker in the Toledo Mud Hens' clubhouse, six pictures line a poster board, commemorating the record he broke Monday night.

In the upper-left corner is the swing that sent out his record-breaking 433rd minor-league home run. Next to it is a scoreboard message congratulating him, followed by Hessman rounding the bases, Hessman reaching home, a ticket stub from the game and a shot of Hessman's teammates dousing him with champagne.

Hessman has worked almost two decades for a memory like that, and it's an odd record to have. At 19 years, 2,077 games and two league championships, he's one of the most accomplished minor league players in history.