| Dave Eiland | |
|---|---|
 Eiland with the Kansas City Royals | |
| Pitcher /Pitching coach | |
| Born: (1966-07-05)July 5, 1966 (age 59) Dade City, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 3, 1988, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 10, 2000, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 12–27 |
| Earned run average | 5.74 |
| Strikeouts | 153 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
David William Eiland (born July 5, 1966) is an American former professionalbaseball player who was a pitcher for tenMajor League Baseball seasons. Eiland playedcollege baseball for theUniversity of Florida and theUniversity of South Florida, and thereafter, played professionally for theNew York Yankees,San Diego Padres andTampa Bay Devil Rays. He has also been apitching coach for the New York Yankees, theNew York Mets and theKansas City Royals.
He attendedZephyrhills High School, where he baseball, football, basketball, and golf.[1] Eiland was an all-conference first team selection in football as a wide receiver and punter. He was a three-time all-conference winner in baseball as well.[2] The school later retired the number 14 in his honor.[1]
Eiland accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for theFlorida Gators football team. However, he suffered a shoulder injury before the 1984 season and never played for Gators.[2]
In 1986, he transferred to theUniversity of South Florida in Tampa and finished his collegiate career playing for the Bulls baseball team.[2] That summer, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theFalmouth Commodores of theCape Cod Baseball League.[3] He was an All-Sun Belt Conference selection and a preseason All-America selection in 1987.[2]
TheNew York Yankees selected Eiland in the seventh round of the1987 MLB draft.[4] He was fast-tracked through the system, starting the 1988 season at Double-A Albany before getting called up to Triple-A Columbus in July.[1] Eiland made his major league debut with the Yankees on August 3, 1988.[5] He allowed three hits in seven innings, including a home run to the first batter he faced,Paul Molitor.[6][7]
Eiland spent four years in the organization, bouncing between the big leagues and the minors.[6][8] In 1990, while pitching for theColumbus Clippers, he tied anInternational League record for wins in a 16-5 season, and was named the league's Pitcher of the Year. He then earned a spot in the rotation to start the 1991 season, but pitched to a 5.33 ERA in 72.2 innings.[9] Eiland missed two months to a heel injury, and later admitted to pitching while hurt after returning.[6][10]
On January 9, 1992, he wasdesignated for assignment by the Yankees. Unhappy with the decision, he told the media "it was a stupid move on the part of the Yankees and I'm looking forward to leaving."[10][11]
He signed with theSan Diego Padres in 1992 and was named the team's fifth starter to begin the season.[12][13][8] On April 10, hehit a home run in his first plate appearance, facingBob Ojeda of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[14][15] It was the only home run Eiland hit in 27 plate appearances, but it made him the only player in MLB history to give up ahome run to the first batter he faced and hit a homer in his first plate appearance.[1][7]
Eiland re-signed with the Padres for the 1993 season, but was designated for assignment in May after pitching to a 5.21 ERA in 10 games.[16] He became a free agent when he refused an outright assignment.[17]
After becoming a free agent, Eiland latched on with theCleveland Indians and pitched in Triple-A. He had a 5.30 ERA in eight starts for theCharlotte Knights.[18]
On August 4, 1993, he was traded to theTexas Rangers forGerald Alexander andAllan Anderson.[19] He had a 4.29 ERA in seven starts for theOklahoma City 89ers.[20]
He returned to the Yankees in 1994, spending the entire strike-shortened season in Triple-A.[6] Eiland re-signed with the Yankees for the 1995 season and was finally recalled on July 19 to make a spot start. On July 21, he earned his first major league win since 1991.[21]
On December 6, 1995, Eiland signed a minor league deal with theSt. Louis Cardinals and started the season in Triple-A.[22][23] He pitched to a 5.55 ERA in eight games with theLouisville Redbirds before he was released in June.[24][25]
He re-signed with the Yankees for a third time and spent most of the 1996 season with the Columbus Clippers.[26][25] Eiland spent the last two weeks of the season with the Yankees but didn't pitch.[27] He spent the 1997 season in Triple-A, compiling a 6.64 ERA in 62.1 innings while dealing with tendinitis.[28][29] He left the Clippers as the team's all-time leader in wins (67), innings pitched (767) and strikeouts (437).[29]
Eiland considered retiring at the end of the 1997 season before signing a minor league deal with theTampa Bay Devil Rays in December 1997.[30] He was a non-roster invitee that spring[31] but ultimately started the year in Triple-A.[32] Despite pitching to a 2.99 ERA in 171.2 innings for theDurham Bulls, Eiland was not called up to the majors until September 25, 1998.[33][25]
He returned to the Devil Rays in 1999 and was called up in May[30] and maintained a 5.60 ERA in 80.1 innings between the rotation and bullpen.[34] Eiland made the 2000 Devil Rays out of spring training as the team's long reliever.[30] That year, he held a 7.24 ERA in 54.2 innings as a starter and reliever.[35]
On December 6, 2000, Eiland signed a minor league deal with theOakland Athletics. However, he ultimately never pitched in a competitive game with the organization. He missed the entire 2001 season after undergoingTommy John surgery, and then re-tore the ligament in April 2002.[36] Despite initially being hopeful that he would be able to return, Eiland was ultimately forced to retire.[37]
After retiring, Eiland joined the Yankees organization and worked as a pitching coach in the minor leagues, starting with theGulf Coast Yankees in 2003.[1] In June, he was reassigned to theStaten Island Yankees in Short Season A-ball.[38] Eiland returned to Staten Island for the 2004 season.[39][40]
He next coached theTrenton Thunder in 2005 and 2006 before making the jump to Triple-A as the pitching coach of theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2007.[41][42] During his tenure in the Yankees farm system, Eiland oversaw the development of prospects includingPhil Hughes,[43]Joba Chamberlain,[44] andIan Kennedy.[45]
Following the 2007 season,Joe Torre and several Yankees coaches—including pitching coachRon Guidry—were dismissed.[46] Dave Eiland was hired as the new Yankees pitching coach forJoe Girardi's staff.[47][48] During his time with the team, Eiland worked extensively with the strugglingA.J. Burnett.[49][50][51]
He took a personal leave of absence from the Yankees beginning on June 4, 2010, and returned to the team on June 29.[52] Though the reason for the absence was never explained, Eiland later alluded to it being related to a family issue.[53] It was noted that while he was away from the team, Burnett was 0–5 with an 11.35 ERA in five starts.[54]
On October 25, Eiland was fired by Brian Cashman.[55] He later said he was shocked by the decision.[56] When asked about the dismissal, Cashman told reporters "He knows why. He was given conditions that needed to be followed. So he knows why."[57] Eiland then hired agentBurton Rocks.[58]
After the 2010 season, Eiland joined theTampa Bay Rays as a special assistant to general managerAndrew Friedman.[59][60]
On October 25, 2011, Eiland was named as the pitching coach for theKansas City Royals.[61][62] He was let go by the Royals after the 2017 season.[63]
When the Mets namedMickey Callaway as their manager after the 2017 season, Eiland was hired as the team's pitching coach.[64] He worked withJacob deGrom to simplify his approach, helping him win theCy Young Award in 2018 and 2019.[65] Eiland also helpedSteven Matz develop a delivery that was less stressful on his body.[66] He helpedZack Wheeler change his mechanics in order to improve his timing and increase his velocity.[67][68] Eiland was fired on June 20, 2019.[69]
On March 2, 2021, Eiland was named pitching coach for theLexington Legends of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball.[70][71]
In 2022, Eiland was hired by theMiami Marlins organization to be the pitching coach for thePensacola Blue Wahoos in Double-A.[72] He returned for the 2023 season.[73]
Eiland was born inDade City, Florida to Bill and June. He grew up inZephyrhills, where his father was the police chief.[2][32] He and his wife Sandra had two daughters, Nicole and Natalie.[74]
During his time with the Devil Rays, Eiland acted as abody double forKevin Costner, who played a starting pitcher and run scorer in the 1999 filmFor Love of the Game.[75]
He was a 2012 inductee in theInternational League Hall of Fame.[76]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Yankeespitching coach 2008–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Kansas City Royalspitching coach 2011–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Metspitching coach 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
