He attended Zephyrhills 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 the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators football team. However, he suffered a shoulder injury before the 1984 season and never played for Gators.[2]
The New York Yankees selected Eiland in the seventh round of the 1987 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 the Columbus Clippers, he tied an International 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 was designated 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]
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 the Cleveland Indians and pitched in Triple-A. He had a 5.30 ERA in eight starts for the Charlotte Knights.[18]
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 the St. Louis Cardinals and started the season in Triple-A.[22][23] He pitched to a 5.55 ERA in eight games with the Louisville 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 the Tampa 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 the Durham 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 the Oakland Athletics. However, he ultimately never pitched in a competitive game with the organization. He missed the entire 2001 season after undergoing Tommy 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 the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2003.[1] In June, he was reassigned to the Staten Island Yankees in Short Season A-ball.[38] Eiland returned to Staten Island for the 2004 season.[39][40]
Following the 2007 season, Joe Torre and several Yankees coaches—including pitching coach Ron Guidry—were dismissed.[46] Dave Eiland was hired as the new Yankees pitching coach for Joe Girardi's staff.[47][48] During his time with the team, Eiland worked extensively with the struggling A.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 agent Burton Rocks.[58]
When the Mets named Mickey Callaway as their manager after the 2017 season, Eiland was hired as the team's pitching coach.[64] He worked with Jacob deGrom to simplify his approach, helping him win the Cy Young Award in 2018 and 2019.[65] Eiland also helped Steven Matz develop a delivery that was less stressful on his body.[66] He helped Zack Wheeler change his mechanics in order to improve his timing and increase his velocity.[67][68] Eiland was fired on June 20, 2019.[69]
In 2022, Eiland was hired by the Miami Marlins organization to be the pitching coach for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in Double-A.[72] He returned for the 2023 season.[73]
Eiland was born in Dade City, Florida to Bill and June. He grew up in Zephyrhills, where his father was the police chief.[2][32] He and his wife Sandra had two daughters, Nicole and Natalie.[74]