GaryMrMets
12-27-2001, 09:14 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news/20011227/texpitch.html
Texas signs RHP Irabu, LHP Pulsipher to minor league contracts
December 27, 2001
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers, who had the worst ERA in the major leagues in 2001, signed a pair of once promising pitchers to minor league contracts on Thursday.
Righthander Hideki Irabu and lefthander Bill Pulsipher each signed one-year contracts with Class AAA Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League and have been invited to spring training with the Rangers as non-roster players.
Irabu was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Japanese Pacific League and was acquired by the San Diego Padres in 1997 before they agreed to a working agreement that sent him to the New York Yankees in a six-player deal.
Irabu made a highly anticipated debut at Yankee Stadium on July 10, 1997 and struck out nine in a 10-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. But he finished his first major league season with a 5-4 record and a 7.09 ERA.
The 32-year-old Irabu went 24-16 in 1998-99 with the Yankees before he was traded to the Montreal Expos on December 22, 1999. He went 2-5 with a 7.24 ERA in 11 starts in 2000. In 2001, Irabu was 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in three starts and spent most of the season on the disabled list with elbow and knee injuries before Montreal released him on May 31.
Pulsipher was a second-round pick of the New York Mets in 1991 and showed great potential when he went 5-7 with a 3.98 ERA in his rookie year of 1995. But the lefthander suffered shoulder and elbow problems the following spring and missed all of 1996.
The 28-year-old Pulsipher has won just eight games since his rookie season and has a 5.13 ERA in 101 career games. He split 2001 between the Boston White Sox and Chicago White Sox and went 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 37 appearances out of the bullpen.
Email this story - (View most popular)
updated at Thu Dec 27 12:35:16 2001 PT
Texas signs RHP Irabu, LHP Pulsipher to minor league contracts
December 27, 2001
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers, who had the worst ERA in the major leagues in 2001, signed a pair of once promising pitchers to minor league contracts on Thursday.
Righthander Hideki Irabu and lefthander Bill Pulsipher each signed one-year contracts with Class AAA Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League and have been invited to spring training with the Rangers as non-roster players.
Irabu was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Japanese Pacific League and was acquired by the San Diego Padres in 1997 before they agreed to a working agreement that sent him to the New York Yankees in a six-player deal.
Irabu made a highly anticipated debut at Yankee Stadium on July 10, 1997 and struck out nine in a 10-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. But he finished his first major league season with a 5-4 record and a 7.09 ERA.
The 32-year-old Irabu went 24-16 in 1998-99 with the Yankees before he was traded to the Montreal Expos on December 22, 1999. He went 2-5 with a 7.24 ERA in 11 starts in 2000. In 2001, Irabu was 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in three starts and spent most of the season on the disabled list with elbow and knee injuries before Montreal released him on May 31.
Pulsipher was a second-round pick of the New York Mets in 1991 and showed great potential when he went 5-7 with a 3.98 ERA in his rookie year of 1995. But the lefthander suffered shoulder and elbow problems the following spring and missed all of 1996.
The 28-year-old Pulsipher has won just eight games since his rookie season and has a 5.13 ERA in 101 career games. He split 2001 between the Boston White Sox and Chicago White Sox and went 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 37 appearances out of the bullpen.
Email this story - (View most popular)
updated at Thu Dec 27 12:35:16 2001 PT