Eric James Byrnes
Date of birth: February 16, 1976
Random notes: Signed by Rick Magnante June 18, 1998....Also played football in high school, scored 14 touchdowns as a senior running back....double majored in history and economics at UCLA....was drafted in the fourth round by the Astros in 1997, but chose to stay at UCLA for his senior year...never missed a game in his college career due to injury or illness...his 326 hits in his UCLA career were 58 more than any other player in school history...Was a teammate of Angels third baseman Troy Glaus at UCLA...Named one of Sacramento’s “Most Eligible Singles” by Sacramento Magazine in March 2001...was named MVP of 2001 Dominican Winter League and nicknamed "Captain America" as he became a Dominican fan favorite...became the first American-born player to win Most Valuable Player in the Dominican League since 1988...his team, the Licey Tigers, won the Dominican Winter League Championship...ranked as Baseball Weekly's 10th best hitting prospect prior to 2002 season (joined fellow A's prospects Carlos Pena and Esteban German in top 10)
Salaries:
Awards and Records:
Check to see where Eric stands in the UCLA Record Books.
Birthplace: Redwood City, CA
Resides: Half Moon Bay, CA
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
Number: 15
Past Numbers: 6-St. Francis HS, UCLA, So. Oregon, Modesto, Visalia 5-Midland 3-AFL 17-Sacto '00 22 - Sacto, Oakland 2001-2005 35 - Colorado '05
Hits: Right
Throws: Right
Position: OF
High School: St. Francis (Mountain View, CA)
College: UCLA
Major: History and Economics
Drafted:
1994, 38th Round (1056th overall) by the LA Dodgers
1997, 4th Round (130th overall) by the Houston AStros
1998, 8th Round (225th overall) by the Oakland A's
Major league debut: August 22, 2000
First major league hit: August 22, 2000 (singled off Cleveland Indians Chuck Finley)
First major league home run: June 9, 2001 (off SF Giants Shawn Estes)
Teams:
UCLA Bruins 1994-98
Hyannis Mets (Cape Cod League) 1996-97
Southern Oregon (Medford) Timberjacks (Short Season A) 1998
Visalia Oaks (A) 1998
Modesto A's (A) 1999
Midland Rockhounds (AA) 1999-2000
Phoenix Desert Dogs (Arizona Fall League) 2000
Sacramento River Cats (AAA) 2000-2002
Oakland A's 2000-2005
Licey Tigers (Dominican Winter League) 2001, 2002
Colorado Rockies 2005
Baltimore Orioles 2005
Arizona Diamondbacks 2006
2000 - $175,000
2001 - $200,000
2002 - $200,000
2003 - $300,000
2004 - $328,000
2005 - $2,200,000
2006 - $2,250,000
Awards:
First Team Freshman All-American (1995)
First Team All Pac Ten Conference (1995, 1997)
All Pac Ten Honorable Mention (1996, 1998)
UCLA Most Inspirational Player Award (1998)
3-time recipient of UCLA Baseball Academic Award
California League Player of the Week - August
24-30, 1998
California League (A) All-Star (1999 - Modesto)
Most Exciting Player (2001 - Sacramento River Cats)
Dominican Winter League Most Valuable Player (2001 - Licey Tigers)
Winter League All-Star (2002)
Records:
Pac 10 Career Doubles: 75
UCLA: Career hits: 326 (3rd in Pac 10 history)
UCLA: Career runs scored: 235
UCLA: Career at bats: 984
UCLA: Consecutive steals: 31