Remember that whole Generation K thing people used to talk about? It was a group of three young starting pitchers projected to be cornerstones of the New York Mets’ rotation for years to come. Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson were two pieces of that three-man team, but Bill Pulsipher was the first pitcher the Amazins drafted, hoping to re-start a new era of winning.
Born in Fort Benning, Georgia, Pulsipher was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 1991 first-year player draft out of Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia. New York was able to convince the left-hander to leave his full-scholarship to Old Dominion University on the table and opt for professional baseball instead.
He began his trek through the minor leagues with Pittsfield in the New York Penn League, impressing with a 2.84 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and 83 strikeouts in 95 innings pitched. The 1993 season brought him to Low-A in the Sally League with Capital City, but was only there for six starts. The southpaw dominated with a 2.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP before getting promoted to Advanced-A in St. Lucie. What did he do there? More of the same once he arrived in the Florida State League. The 19-year-old pitched to a 7-3 record, 2.24 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts in 96.1 innings pitched.
The strong performances through his first two professional seasons led to being ranked the No. 21 prospect in the major leagues by Baseball America. His 1994 season continued to build upon the great expectations set by the organization and its fans. He was named an Eastern League All-Star and led the Binghamton Mets to the playoffs with a 14-9 record, 3.22 ERA, and 1.33 WHIP. That included a no-hitter and being named the Mets’ minor league player of the year. His stock rose to become the 12th best prospect in all of baseball, and was primed to reach the major leagues with baseball returning from their 1994 strike.
Pulsipher made his MLB debut on June 17th, 1995, and compiled a 5-7 record with a 3.98 ERA in 126.2 innings pitched (17 starts). His season ended early with elbow soreness, which continued to bother him into the spring of 1996. An MRI showed the worst possible results: torn ligaments, meaning Tommy John Surgery, and a year away from the game.
That injury would set back Pulsipher’s development as a pitcher, and he would never truly be the same for the duration of his career. He started the 1997 season with Norfolk, but eventually pitched in four different levels because he couldn’t get the ball over the plate. In 82 innings pitched that year, Pulsipher walked 81 hitters, spanning from Rookie Ball all the way to Triple-A.
He became depressed, was given a Prozac prescription, and finished ’97 on a positive note with Double-A Binghamton, compiling a 1.42 ERA in 10 relief appearances. The southpaw found himself back in the majors in ’98 after a decent start in Triple-A (3.96 ERA, 1.53 WHIP in 14 starts), but a 6.91 ERA in 15 appearances for the Amazins ended in July when the Mets traded their former highly-touted prospect to the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike Kinkade.
Pulsipher had back surgery after the conclusion of the ’98 season, then found himself on the disabled list in ’99 with recurring back issues. He was then traded back to the Mets from Milwaukee in exchange for utility infielder Luis Lopez. He went 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in two starts, which was the last time he’d be in the majors with New York.
He bounced around the league in search of a job, but never stuck for a long period of time with any one team. In 2002, he was released by the Yankees, the third pink slip he received in a 14-month span. He decided to quit baseball, and ended up returning to his home in Port St. Lucie. He was paid $8 per hour to be a groundskeeper for the St. Lucie Mets.
No, that’s not a typo. The former second-round pick in the 1991 draft, someone who was projected to be a savior for the Mets rotation, found himself as a groundskeeper for their Advanced-A team, at the age of 28. Wow.
Pulsipher did attempt a comeback, but poor performance and injuries prevented him from ever living up to his potential. He finished his major league career with a 13-19 record, 5.15 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 202 strikeouts, and 141 walks in 327 innings pitched.
This is a prime example of a “can’t miss” prospect that unfortunately, did miss. It’s cases like these that give me some agita when we put huge expectations on guys like Zack Wheeler, but I hope he can handle it and become what everyone thinks he can at the big league level.