Former Modesto Player, Coach Soak In Big-League Experience
Published October 2, 2000
Section: SPORTS Edition(s): ALL Page: C1
By: BRIAN VanderBEEK, BEE STAFF WRITER
Eric Byrnes didn't play in Sunday's game.
In fact, the outfielder saw action in only eight games since his Sept. 11 recall from Sacramento, and since he won't be on Oakland's playoff roster, Sunday's clinching marked the end of his season.
Yet there he was, spraying champagne and beer with the rest of his teammates, confident in the knowledge he can contribute on the major league level.
"This has been unbelievable," said Byrnes, who hit .337 with Modesto in 1999 to win the California League batting title.
"It's been a learning experience since the first time I got here. My role has been very limited, but even that has taught me how things work on the other side."
Bob Geren has gone through the same experience. The Modesto manager in 1999 joined the Oakland coaching staff following Sacramento's elimination from the Triple-A playoffs.
"I'm just watching and gaining the overall experience," Geren said. "I'm watching the bench coach and the pitching coach prepare for the game, to see how they prepare in relation to how I prepare at my level."
Like Byrnes, Geren's "official" season ended Sunday. Major league baseball limits teams to six coaches in uniform during the game, a rule that isn't enforced until the playoffs. So Geren, an accomplished master of the fungo, will assist Oakland in pregame drills, then change into street clothes before the game and hang out in the wings while the game is in progress.
Geren also knows what Byrnes is going through. His first major league call-up was in 1988, a September stint with a Yankees team that finished second.
Geren didn't play much in that first stay in the Bronx, nor has Byrnes since joining the A's. Used mainly as a pinch runner, Byrnes watches as best he can from a crowded September bench, then retreats to the tunnel to stay loose.
"Byrnesie leads the team in running up the stairs to the clubhouse," Geren said. "He has a lot of energy and he's not used to playing part-time. I think he needs to run up the stairs during the game or he'd explode."
He almost ignites simply when asked about the major league experience.
"This is everything they say it is," Byrnes said, flashing back to his initial call-up on Aug. 22. "It's a dream and more. Starting with the call from Geren, getting a first class plane ticket to Cleveland, having a taxi waiting to take me to Jacobs Field, having two guys waiting for me there to take my bags, going in a meeting with Art Howe, being in the lineup that day and getting a single in my first at-bat against Chuck Finley.
"It was the most overwhelming day of my life."
Originally printed in the Modesto Bee...I paid to view this article.