William Thomas Pulsipher (born October 9, 1973) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. Pulsipher, a

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

over six seasons from to . Once considered a top prospect and a member of the Mets' heralded " Generation K", his career was derailed by injuries, including a torn ulnar collateral ligament requiring

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

major depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

and

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

Early life

Pulsipher was a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

who was born in

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His family frequently relocated, including to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, before settling in

Clifton, Virginia Clifton is an incorporated town located in southwestern Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 282 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 185 at the 2000 census. Incorporated by the General Assembly on March 9, 190 ...

. His parents

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d, and he lived with his father and

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Ste ...

. While a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

at Fairfax High School, Pulsipher was named the All-Metropolitan D.C. Player of the Year as a pitcher and

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

. The team finished the season with a 17-4 record. He also excelled at

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, but baseball was his main focus, and at age 17 he was offered a full

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

. The day before he was to leave, he decided to forego college and sign with the New York Mets after being chosen in the second round of the

1991 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...

. Fairfax teammate

Brian Buchanan Brian James Buchanan (born July 21, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 through 2004 for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, and the New York Mets. And al ...

also made it to the Major Leagues after being drafted out of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the first round of the

1994 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players *Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not ...

Minor league career

In the Mets'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

system, Pulsipher posted a 2.84

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 1992 and ERAs of 2.08 with the

Capital City Bombers Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and 2.24 with the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

, both in 1993. In 1994, Pulsipher was selected to be a AA-level Eastern League all-star. He led the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

to the playoffs, where he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on September 12 and was named the New York Mets Minor League Player of the Year.Bill Pulsipher
at BaseballLibrary.com. Retrieved on March 26, 2007. At age 20, Pulsipher was considered one of the top prospects in baseball. Pulsipher, along with fellow Mets minor league pitchers

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay ...

and Paul Wilson, were dubbed " Generation K" by sportswriters and fans.

Major leagues career

Early injuries

In 1995, Pulsipher began the season with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

and continued pitching well against minor league hitting, with an ERA of 3.14. He was called up to the majors and made his big-league debut on June 17, 1995. Pulsipher finished the season with a 5–7 record and 3.98 ERA before a sore elbow ended his season three weeks early. Towards the end of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1996, Pulsipher was still experiencing elbow pain when an MRI showed torn ligaments; subsequent

wiped out his entire season. In 1997, Pulsipher started the season with Norfolk, but walked 38 batters in only 27⅔ innings. He was sent down to the A-level

, but continued walking nearly a batter per inning. Pulsipher later recounted that he was diagnosed with depression around that time. He was prescribed

Prozac Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...

and his pitching improved, including a 1.42 ERA out of the bullpen at AA Binghamton. After beginning 1998 in Norfolk, Pulsipher was called back up to the majors for the first time in 2½ seasons. Although his control problems did not resurface, he pitched poorly for New York, mostly in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. At the July 31 trading deadline, Pulsipher was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for

Mike Kinkade Michael Arthur Kinkade (born May 6, 1973) is an American college baseball coach and former Major League Baseball player. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1998 and 2003, and is currently an assista ...

. Pulsipher started for the Brewers for the rest of 1998, but needed back surgery after the season. He started 1999 in the majors, but was soon on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

when back problems recurred. After spending the second half in the majors and finishing with a 5.98 ERA, the Brewers traded him back to the Mets for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Luis López.

Frequent moves and a medical scare

On February 23, 2000, Pulsipher's pregnant wife found him unconscious and barely breathing on their bathroom floor. Pulsipher was rushed to the hospital with paramedics assisting his breathing and doctors restoring his weak heartbeat. Pulsipher attributes the attack to a dietary supplement which contained

ephedra Ephedra may refer to: * Ephedra (medicine), a medicinal preparation from the plant ''Ephedra sinica'' * ''Ephedra'' (plant), genus of gymnosperm shrubs See also * Ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is of ...

. Three years later, Pulsipher was nearby when his

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

teammate

Steve Bechler Steven Scott Bechler (November 18, 1979 – February 17, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles. After starring for the South Medford High School baseball te ...

collapsed and died, also from ephedra. Ephedra was banned by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

in 2004. Pulsipher pitched poorly for Norfolk and New York in 2000 before being traded to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

for

Lenny Harris Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

. He spent the rest of the season in the minors, mostly with the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. The

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

signed him for 2001, but sent him to the minors during spring training and released him soon after. He was signed by the Boston Red Sox, pitched well for the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, and was brought up to the majors in late June. After pitching very well in relief for a month, Pulsipher was awful through August with an ERA near 10.00 and was placed on waivers. The Chicago White Sox claimed him off waivers but he rejected an assignment to the minors after posting a 7.88 ERA and became a free agent.

Brief career change and comeback attempts

The Texas Rangers signed Pulsipher before the 2002 season, but for the second consecutive season, he was released during spring training. He was signed by the

soon after, but was released again after posting a 14.73 ERA and injuring his groin with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. His third release in 14 months combined with being off his

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...

medication caused Pulsipher to quit baseball. He returned to his home in

Port St. Lucie, Florida Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, O ...

, and for a time was being paid eight

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...

per hour to be a

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

for the St. Lucie Mets. While tending to the minor league complex's field in Florida, Pulsipher continued to stay in shape. In December 2002, he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. While with the AAA

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

in 2003, he again experienced bouts of depression and

and was prescribed

Paxil Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorde ...

, which he says improved his life. In 2004, Pulsipher did not pursue a major league contract and instead signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League. For the first time since 2000, Pulsipher was starting games, and he pitched well enough to be named an Atlantic League All-Star. He led Long Island to its first league championship, winning the clinching game. Pulsipher was signed by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

in August 2004, but was injured after two decent minor league starts and released in September. He recovered to pitch well for

Indios de Mayagüez The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the ''Indios'' have won 18 national ...

in the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. He was signed to play for a

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

team in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

when his former teammate

convinced the St. Louis Cardinals to invite him to 2005 spring training. Pulsipher did not allow a run for the entire spring training, but he injured his

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

and had his toe broken by a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

before the season started. Regardless, he made the team out of spring training and pitched in the majors for the first time since 2001. The hamstring injury recurred in mid-April, landing him on the disabled list. He returned a few weeks later, but was sent to the minors after two games. He was mostly a starter in the minor leagues before being released in early September. Pulsipher finished 2005 with the Long Island Ducks, which made the playoffs for the second consecutive season. He spent the entire 2006 season with the Ducks, which again made the postseason. Pulsipher was the losing pitcher in the season-ending game. Pulsipher also played for the Ducks in 2007. Pulsipher played a few winters for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean league while continuing to play in the independent leagues as well as the

. He started the 2010 season the pitcher/pitching coach for the GBL's

Yuma Scorpions Yuma can refer to: Places * Yuma Desert, desert in southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico ;United States * Yuma County, Arizona ** Yuma, Arizona ** Fortuna Foothills, Arizona ** Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ** United States Army Yuma Proving Ground ...

. Pulsipher returned to playing midseason, rejoining the Atlantic League pitching for the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

and re-signed with the Patriots for the 2011 season.

Other activities

Between professional seasons, Bill Pulsipher is a private pitching instructor at All Pro Sports Academy in

Bellport, New York Bellport is a village in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,084 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Bellport is named after the Bell family ...

Personal life

Pulsipher has two sons: Liam Hayden and Leyton Hale. Both were intentionally given the initials "LHP" for "left-handed pitcher". Liam pitched for Center Moriches High School and now is on Stony Brook University’s baseball team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulsipher, Bill 1973 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan American expatriates in Germany Arizona League Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball players from Virginia Binghamton Mets players Boston Red Sox players Capital City Bombers players Chicago White Sox players Columbus Clippers players Gulf Coast Mets players Indios de Mayagüez players Leones de Yucatán players Lobos de Arecibo players Long Island Ducks players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Ottawa Lynx players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Chattahoochee County, Georgia People from Clifton, Virginia People from Muscogee County, Georgia Pericos de Puebla players Pittsfield Mets players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Fairfax County, Virginia Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Lucie Mets players Tacoma Rainiers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Sidewinders players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Yuma Scorpions players