 Although he was born in Houlton, Maine, on the Canada–US border, he attended high school in Burbank, California, and was selected by the Angels in the seventh round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.He then spent 5 years in the club's farm system before his recall during the middle of the 1979 campaign.Botting made his Major League debut in relief on June 28, 1979, against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium.