Background and career
Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1997, Garland played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies.
Garland and his two sisters Kim and Kerrie Garland were raised in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, by their mother, Vikki, after she divorced their father when Garland was young. Garland played baseball at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills. As a senior, he was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America. He was also named to the 1997 All-America First Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings. Garland committed to play college baseball for the USC Trojans.
Garland was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the tenth pick of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft and signed for $1.325 million. He pitched in 10 games for the rookie-level Arizona League Cubs with a 3–2 record and a 2.70 ERA to finish the season. He began 1998 with the Single-A Rockford Cubbies.
On July 29, 1998, Garland was traded to the Chicago White Sox just before the trade deadline in exchange for relief pitcher Matt Karchner who had previous success in the majors, but was having a down season with the White Sox (5.15 ERA). Unfortunately for the Cubs, Karchner did not fare any better with them that season (5.14 ERA) and was released in 2000 while Garland dominated the minor leagues on his way to securing a spot in the White Sox's rotation for seven seasons. Garland started 1999 with High-A Winston-Salem and after 19 starts and a 3.33 ERA, Garland was promoted to Double-A Birmingham. In 2000, he was the White Sox's #2 prospect and went 9–2 with a 2.26 ERA for Triple-A Charlotte before earning a promotion to the major leagues. For his success in Triple-A, Garland was voted a Triple-A All-Star and International League All-Star and to Baseball America's 2nd team Minor League All-Star team and the International League Most Valuable Pitcher. He started 2001 with Charlotte again, but was back in the majors after only 5 starts.
Garland made his major league debut as the youngest player in the American League at age 20 on July 4, 2000, against the Kansas City Royals, but gave up 7 earned runs before being chased from the game after 3 innings. In 15 games in 2000, all but 2 of them starts, he had a 4–8 record and a 6.46 ERA. In 2001, Garland started in the minors, but was called up and made his first appearance of the year on May 2. On May 12, 2001, he gave up Alex Rodriguez' 200th home run. Garland spent the rest of the year mixing his time between the bullpen and rotation. In 2002, he became a full-time starter and posted average seasons the next three years. In 2002, he was 12–12 with a 4.58 ERA, in 2003, he was 12–13 with a 4.51 ERA, and in 2004, he was 12–11 with a 4.89 ERA. Garland's 2005 season was very strong; he went 18–10 with a 3.50 ERA, 115 strikeouts, and led the AL with 3 shutouts. He also made the All-Star Team, pitching 1 scoreless inning, and helped the White Sox win the American League Central Division and the 2005 World Series. In Garland's first career postseason start, he threw a complete game, 4-hitter, with 7 strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the ALCS. In his other postseason start, in the World Series, Garland pitched 7 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs. Following the 2005 season, Garland signed a three-year $29 million contract, avoiding salary arbitration. 2006 was similar to his seasons before 2005. Despite having a 4.51 ERA, he went 18-7 and his 46 combined wins from 2004 to 2006 were tied for the sixth most in the majors over that period. He also hit his first major league home run on June 18, 2006, off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Esteban Yan. During the 2006 offseason, Garland was nearly traded to the Houston Astros for Taylor Buchholz, Willy Taveras, and Jason Hirsh. The trade fell apart after White Sox general manager Kenny Williams became concerned with the health of Buchholz.
After another average season in 2007, Garland was traded on November 19, 2007, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for shortstop Orlando Cabrera. The Angels, who had depth at shortstop, liked Garland's durability and he did not disappoint in 2008; he extended his streak of at least 32 games started to 7 consecutive seasons.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
