Eric Byrnes

Eric James Byrnes (born February 16, 1976), is a baseball analyst and former professional baseball outfielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners.

After graduating in 1994, he was selected in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers but elected to go to college at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

At UCLA (1995–98), Byrnes hit second in the batting order and played right field in a lineup that featured future major-league stars Troy Glaus (1995–97) and Garrett Atkins (1998).

In 1995, Byrnes played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham A's, and in 1996 and 1997 for the league's Hyannis Mets.

He was again selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, this time by the Houston Astros after his junior season, but again elected to stay in school.

Byrnes finished his UCLA career as one of the most successful hitters in Pac-10 history, with a .331 career average and 75 doubles—a conference record.

Byrnes was selected in the 8th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics.

In the 1998 season, he played for the short-season Southern Oregon Timberjacks, and the Class-A Advanced Visalia Oaks in the A's organization where he batted a combined .357 with 19 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs, 52 runs batted in (RBIs), and 17 stolen bases.

In 1999, Byrnes continued to play in the A's minor leagues.

That season, he played for the Class-A Advanced Modesto A's, and the Double-A Midland RockHounds and in 139 combined games, Byrnes batted .306 with 42 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 88 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.

Byrnes made his major league debut on August 22, 2000, against the Cleveland Indians.

He went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in his first games, playing designated hitter, and batting seventh in the batting order.

Byrnes batted .300 his first season, with three hits in ten at-bats.

The next season, 2001, Byrnes played 19 games with the A's. He hit his first home run of his major league career on June 9, 2001, against the San Francisco Giants.

He batted .237 with one double, three home runs, five RBIs, and one stolen base with the A's in 2001.

Byrnes played two games in the 2001 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, going hitless in two at-bats.

Byrnes was also involved in a 2003 baseball game that included two significant base running gaffes in a single inning.

With a chance to close out the Boston Red Sox, the Athletics had a potential rally stifled by two controversial plays.

Byrnes was tagged out after failing to touch home plate after a collision with catcher Jason Varitek, who had blocked the plate before attempting to catch the ball.

After the collision, a hobbling Byrnes shoved Varitek and began walking back to the dugout.

Varitek picked up the ball and tagged Byrnes out.

This play was then followed up by Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller running into Miguel Tejada as Byrnes was rounding third (later in the same inning).

Tejada then stopped running home and was eventually tagged out; the umpires called Tejada out because he was tagged as a result of not attempting to advance home, not because of the obstruction by the third baseman.

On June 29, 2003, Byrnes hit for the cycle.

In 2004, Byrnes had his best year with the A's, batting .283 with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs.

On July 13, 2005, Byrnes, along with prospect Omar Quintanilla, was traded to the Colorado Rockies for pitchers Joe Kennedy and Jay Witasick.

In 15 games with the Rockies, Byrnes batted .189 with two doubles, five RBIs, and two stolen bases.

A little over two weeks later, and a day before the trading deadline, on July 30, 2005, Byrnes was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Larry Bigbie.

On August 15, 2005, Byrnes and the Orioles traveled to Oakland, marking the first time Byrnes played against his former team.

After struggling against right-handed pitchers, the Orioles benched Byrnes and questioned his ability to be an every-day player.

In 52 games with the Orioles that season, Byrnes batted .192 with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases.

In his combined totals that season between the Oakland Athletics, the Colorado Rockies, and the Orioles, Byrnes batted .231 with 22 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, 35 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases in 111 games.

Byrnes retired from playing in 2010 and was an analyst for MLB Network until 2021.

Byrnes was considered a player who relied on his speed and hustle.

He could hit for power, but tended to be a "free-swinger" and went through hitting droughts.

Byrnes was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, in 2013.

Byrnes was ranked in the top-three for best defensive left fielders in John Dewan's publication, Fielding Bible. Byrnes was selected to the All-Time great Oakland A's 50th Season team in 2018.

Byrnes' high school career was spent in the West Catholic Athletic League, where he played for St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California.

Byrnes regularly competed in baseball and football against Serra High School's Tom Brady, and Bellarmine College Prep's Pat Burrell.