centerfield maz

William Thomas Pulsipher was born October 9, 1973, in Fort Benning, Georgia. The Pulsipher family moved to the D.C. area where Bill became a local baseball & basketball star in Fairfax, Virginia.  The six-foot three left hander got offers for college scholarships, but instead he chose to sign with New York Mets in 1991. Mets Career: Pulsipher immediately made a quick impact within the organization. He posted low ERAs in his first two years at A ball, getting promoted to AA Binghamton in 1994. There he threw a no hitter going 14-9 with a 3.22 ERA getting selected to the Eastern League All Star game. Bill led his team to the playoffs & by the age of 20, was considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Mets Career:   On June 17th, 1995,  Pulsipher made his debut  at Shea Stadium, making a start  against the Houston Astros. He gave up five runs in the 1st inning & a total of seven runs in seven innings, taking the los...

Braden Laverne Looper was born October 28, 1974 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. He is one of the few Mets to be born in Oklahoma and one of very few players to have a middle name of Laverne.  Looper was no dummy a smart student graduating in the National Honor Society. He was a scholar, as well as a four-letter man in High school. The six foot four right handed pitcher attended Wichita State, earning All American honors going to the College World Series and later getting elected to the Wichita Hall of Fame. In 1996 he was part of the bronze winning US Olympic baseball team in Atlanta. The tall six-foot five right hander was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996 as a first-round selection the third pick overall. Two years later he was traded to the Florida Marlins with Armando Almanza and Pablo Ozuna for Edgar Renteria.  MLB Career: Looper debuted during the 2000 season as a mid-reliever in going 5-1, with 18 holds as the setup m...

Edward Frederick Yost was born October 13, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. The five-foot ten right hand hitter attended John Adams High school in Ozone Park, Queens New York. A bachelor for many years even as a player he lived at home in South Ozone, Park Queens. Yost attended New York University in the late forties, playing both baseball & basketball. On his basketball team were future NY Knicks, Frank Mangiapane & Sid Tannenbaum, as well as future Brooklyn Dodger Ralph Branca. He tried out for the Red Sox but they did not sign him, he quickly got signed by the lowly Washington Senators. MLB Career: Yost jumped right over the minor leagues, playing seven brief games with the 1944 Senators.  World War II: When he turned 18, he joined the US Navy during World War II.  He spent his summers at the Naval Training Station in Seneca, Lake NY where he played baseball, the closest thing he did to playing minor league ball. He arrived back from Military serv...

Wesley Noreen Westrum was born on November 28, 1922, in Clear brook, Minnesota. Located 250 miles from Minneapolis, the town had a population of just 425 people. He played high school football as a fullback & was already in pro baseball as a teen. The five-foot eleven catcher was signed by the New York Giants in 1941. World War II: Westrum was drafted in 1943, spending most of his time working security at Green Haven prison in Poughkeepsie, NY. The maximum-security facility held military prisoners.  Family: He met his future wife Josephine while in Poughkeepsie & the two lived  in Dutchess County, New York  after they got married.   He returned making his MLB debut in 1947 as the Giants backup catcher to Walker Cooper for two seasons.  During the 1947 season, the popular Mel Ott was replaced by the hated Leo Durocher as manager. Lei the Lip had managed the Brooklyn Dodgers, his switch heated up the rivalry even more....