Wayne Garland

Marcus Wayne Garland (born October 26, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-hander, he pitched in the major leagues for nine seasons from 1973 to 1981 for the Baltimore Orioles (1973–1976) and Cleveland Indians (1977–1981). He was one of the first 24 ballplayers who profited from the advent of MLB free agency following the 1976 season, when he became the first MLB player to sign a 10-year contract.

Amateur career Garland was born on October 26, 1950, in Nashville, Tennessee. He played both basketball and baseball at Cohn High School in Nashville.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and attended Gulf Coast Junior College. He was then selected in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, but again, did not sign a contract. The Orioles drafted him in the 1969 secondary draft and inked him to a contract.

Professional career Baltimore Orioles Garland pitched for several years in the minor leagues posting generally lackluster numbers with a 7–9 record in 1972 and 10–11 in 1973. However, in 1973, he led the Rochester Red Wings with 141 strikeouts. He was called up to the major leagues in September 1973 and made his debut on September 13, 1973. In his first start on September 27, Garland was the losing pitcher. After spring training in 1974, he was sent back to Rochester, but was called up in May as a relief pitcher. Over the season, he made six starts, including a game where he pitched eight innings of no-hit baseball. He continued pitching mostly in relief in 1975 and the first half of 1976. After the Orioles traded Ken Holtzman and Doyle Alexander to the New York Yankees in June, a spot in the starting rotation opened for Garland. He made the most of his opportunity with a 10–2 by July and finished with 20 wins against seven losses. He signed a 10-year contract with the Cleveland Indians worth a reported $2.3 million, one of the richest of that initial free-agent class, and the first 10-year contract for a player in major league history.

He returned in 1979 but had two more stints on the disabled list and finished the year with a record of 4–10.

Coaching career In the late 1980s he was a pitching coach for the Nashville Sounds and worked in the Pirates organization as a coach in the 1990s but a sore back (one that required six surgeries) derailed him from continuing to serve as a coach.