TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- For a while it looked like Alex Cabrera was going to have to adopt the song the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes play for Norihiro Nakamura every time he walks up to the plate: "Mission Impossible."
But after going without a home run in 19 plate appearances, Cabrera launched No. 55 in his final at-bat Wednesday night to tie the single-season home run record held by Tuffy Rhodes and Sadaharu Oh in the Seibu Lions' 4-1 loss to the Buffaloes at the Seibu Dome.
"I've been waiting a long time for this and everyone has been giving me a lot of encouragement," Cabrera said after the game. "I especially want to thank all the fans for following me all year and I'm glad I could tie the record for them.