McFarlane signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1958. He spent two seasons in the Pirates minor league system before debuting in the Cuban League, where he played for the Alacranes de Almendares club during the 1959-60[4] and 1960-61[5] winter seasons.
Shortly thereafter, the Cuban government replaced the former professional baseball system with new amateur baseball leagues. As a result, like many Cuban ballplayers, McFarlane decided to migrate to the United States to try his luck in a new environment.[citation needed]
MacFarlane opened 1962 at Triple A Columbus Jets, hitting for them a .308 average with 11 homers and 61 RBI.[7] He would make his debut with the Pirates near the end of the year, appearing in eight games, but he never achieved the success predicted for him at Asheville.
After that, MacFarlane spent one and a half season at Triple A and returned to the Pirates for a brief stint in 1964. He then battled with injuries and inconsistency throughout the next three years, as he split time between the Majors and the Minors with the Tigers and Angels organizations.[7]
MacFarlane later played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, concluding in 1971 with the Diablos Rojos del México which had acquired him from the Tidewater Tides for Francisco Estrada on November 30, 1970.[8] In a ten-season minors career, he slashed .285/.372/.478 with 129 home runs and 544 RBI in 960 games appearances.[7]
Even more, Mc Farlane gained notoriety in Puerto Rico when he had his wedding ceremony performed at the Estadio Francisco Montaner, homestand of the Leones.[3]
