Background
He was born in Greenville, South Carolina.
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Gary Lance
Edit ProfileCareer
Listed at 6" 3", 195 pounds, Lance batted and threw right handed. The Royals signed Lance as a free agent in 1971. He spent six seasons in the minor leagues playing at six different levels.
In 1974, while pitching for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, Lance hurled a no-hitter against the Birmingham A"son
He averaged 12 wins in four of these seasons, with a career-high 16 victories in 1977, before joining the big team late in the year. Lance debuted with Kansas City on September 28, 1977, pitching two innings of relief against the Oakland Athletics.
He came into the game in the 8th inning to replace Mark Littell, after the A"s had tied the game at 5–5. Lance got the last out of the inning, pitched a scoreless 9th, then gave up the winning run in the 10th to take the loss.
He never appeared in a major league game again.
Lance returned to the minors for three more years, retiring in 1980. He posted a 80-72 record with a 3.75 European Research Area in 10 minor league seasons. Following his playing career, Lance spent many years as a minor league pitching coach, most recently with the Portland Beavers in 2007.
In between, Lance played winter ball in Venezuela with the Tiburones de Louisiana Guaira and Tigres de Aragua clubs, as well as in Puerto Rico for the Lobos de Arecibo, Indios de Mayagüez and Vaqueros de Bayamón.
Lance made a short return in 1990, while pitching for the Florida Tropics of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association.
