He played professional baseball for two Major League Baseball teams. He was drafted in the first round in 1978 by the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he pitched parts of three seasons, from 1982 to 1984. He pitched in the Reds' minor-league system for five seasons before being called up to the majors. He made his big-league debut at age 23 on July 31, 1982 in a 5-4 Reds loss at Riverfront Stadium, pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the San Diego Padres. Overall in his rookie season, he pitched 28 games (all in relief) with an 0-2 record but a fine 2.58 earned run average. The following season he appeared in only five games for the Reds, going 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA, and in 1984 he pitched in 16 Reds' games, going 0-1 with a 5.12 ERA.