Minors HR king Hessman announces retirement

One of the greatest sluggers to ever grace the minor leagues is calling it a career.

Detroit Tigers farmhand Mike Hessman announced his retirement from professional baseball Saturday.

Hessman, a 37-year-old infielder for the Toledo Mud Hens playing in his 19th season, grabbed headlines in August when he slugged his 433rd career home run in the minors, breaking the all-time record set by Buzz Arlett, who played in the ranks from 1918 to 1937.

A 15th-round draft selection of the Atlanta Braves in 1996, Hessman appeared in 109 career major-league games over five seasons in the early 2000s, but never stuck in the bigs. He became a career minor leaguer, playing for 12 different teams while compiling 7,540 at-bats over 2,094 games. His record-breaking 433rd home run was his last in professional baseball.