Born in Seattle, Arlin was a collegiate star at Ohio State University and was a star in the College World Series. In a 1965 semifinal game against Washington State, he struck out 20 batters in 15 innings, both CWS records, in a 1–0 complete game victory for the Buckeyes. Ohio State, however, lost the final game to an Arizona State team that featured Rick Monday and Sal Bando. The following year in 1966, Arlin led Ohio State to the title and was named the CWS most valuable player. In his two years with the Buckeyes, Arlin posted a 24–3 record with 294 strikeouts. His 165 strikeouts in 1965 remains an Ohio State single-season record; it and the career strikeout record had been set by Paul Ebert in the 1950s. Arlin's number 22 was the first to be retired by the Ohio State baseball team. In 1978, Arlin was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame. In, Arlin was a finalist for the first induction class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. In he was inducted.
Pitching for a struggling young team, Arlin led the National League in losses in both and . In those seasons, however, he posted earned run averages of 3.48 in 1971 and 3.60 in 1972. The 1972 season was an especially curious one for Arlin: he pitched a one-hitter, three two-hitters, and a 10-inning stint in which he allowed only one hit, yet he finished 10–21. In Arlin recorded a personal best 11 victories against 14 losses, but with a 5.10 ERA—nearly a run and a half above his career ERA to that point. Midway into the season, the Padres traded Arlin to the Cleveland Indians for two players to be named later. The Indians completed the trade a week later by sending pitchers Brent Strom and Terry Ley to the Padres. After closing out the season, Arlin, a dental student, retired from baseball and went into the dental profession. During his Major League career, Arlin won 34 games while losing 67, with 463 strikeouts and a 4.33 earned run average in 788 innings pitched. Arlin's grandfather, Harold Arlin, was the first broadcaster ever to call a game on radio, an August 5, 1921 game between the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. Harold Arlin also broadcast the first-ever football game to be called over the radio months later, a college football game between Pitt and West Virginia.
