By Tim Roe/Sports Editor
Eric Byrnes should have stayed in Washington, D.C. At the rate his star is rising, he might have been offered a Cabinet post.
Byrnes is still two weeks shy of his 25th birthday, and yet the outfielder already has made stops in six different professional basebal cities, taken Sacramento by storm and helped the Oakland A's celebrate their American League West Division title.
On Wednesday he made a whistle stop in Vacaville to sign autographs for school children and help promote the Sacramento River Cats.
"I've definitely seen it all," Byrnes said. "With all the moving around I've done this last year's gone by so quick, but I wouldn't change a thing. It's been great."
With Johnny Damon joining an already-crowded A's outfield, Byrnes may stay put in Sacramento with the A's Class AAA team this year. But make no mistake, this Bay Area product is tabbed for stardom.
The A's even sent Byrnes to a rookies career day seminar in the nation's capital two weeks ago. Each big-league club sent a few up-and-comers to the event, which was designed to help younger players make smoother transitions from minor- to major-league teams.
Translation - the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder is on his way. He already can talk your ear off.
"It was beneficial, but it was just fun to be there during that time," he said. "We left on Jan. 19, and I figured I might as well get myself a George W. Bush T-shirt. It's a nice T."
Byrnes and the new president shared a home ... or at least a geographic area ... when the younger Republican spent 110 games with the Midland (Texas) Rockhounds in 1999-2000.
Oakland's AA team already was the fourth stop for the busy youngster, who attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View and was selected by the A's in the eighth round of the June 1998 draft out of UCLA. Byrnes played rookie ball with Southern Oregon and also played with Class A Visalia in '98, then jumped to Class A Modesto before being promoted to Midland in '99.
The whirlwind tour got even faster last year. Byrnes hit .301 in 67 games at Midland before being called up to Sacramento. Another 67 games came at Raley Field and other Pacific Cast League venues, and Byrnes hit .343 with nine homers and 43 RBI before joining Oakland on Aug. 22.
"I was just trying to make an impression," he said. "Everybody wants to get to the majors eventually, but I have to be focused on what I'm doing where I am. If you focus on the team you're playing with, that's what merits promotions. And one of the great things about this organization is that if you perform, you will get an opportunity."
Byrnes got two hits in his first big-league game, including a single off Cleveland's Chuck Finley in his first at-bat. He spent a week with the parent club before being sent back down to the River Cats, but returned to the A's after Sacramento was elminated from the AAA playoffs.
Byrnes was used mostly as a pinch-runner during the A's stretch drive, and was in the dugout when the A's won the West title.
"I was like a kid in a candy store," he said. "I was spraying champagne everywhere. It was great. I had always been a Giants fan growing up, but even my friends ... started rooting for the A's."
Byrnes rooted during the playoffs from in front of his television set as the big-league rosters went back down from 40 to 25 for the postseason.
He's been invited to big-league spring training - outfielders report on Feb. 21, just five days after he turns 25 - but he may be odd man out in Oakland in 2001.
Damon joins an A's outfield that already features Terrence Long, Adam Piatt, Jeremy Giambi and Ryan Christenson. Mario Encarnacion, Bo Porter and Byrnes add to the logjam and will make it tougher for future Midland outfielders to move up to Sacramento.
Byrnes doesn't mind ... for now.
"If you're ever going to be in Triple-A, Sacramento is the best place to be," he said. "In some ways, it's even better than Oakland ... in facilities."
Promotion on no, Byrnes will be in uniform March 29 when the River Cats host the A's in a preseason game. The regular season begins April 5 at Raley Field against Omaha.
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