Bill Pulsipher arrived first, in June 1995, after pitching over 200 minor league innings as a 21-year-old. Between the majors and the minors in 1995 he threw for 218 more innings for a 3.98 ERA. Pulsipher missed all of 1996 and most of 1997 with a torn elbow ligament. After a brief comeback bid in 2001 it appeared his career had ended. During this period Pulsipher compiled a 13–19 record and a 5.13 ERA, never having an ERA below 3.98 in any season. Yet another comeback came in 2004; after a solid year with the independent Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, he was signed by the Seattle Mariners’ AAA affiliate Tacoma Rainiers. He pitched well there, but after a back injury led to his release he returned to the Ducks, leading them to an Atlantic League Championship victory.