Taking note of Byrnes
Posted on Tue, May. 20, 2003
By Rick Hurd
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Eric Byrnes is resting on the couch in the A's clubhouse in Cleveland recently, perusing the comics. His toe taps in rhythm and his head bobs up and down slowly to the music coming through his earphones.
This is his quiet time, the time when his focus becomes narrow. First pitch is about two hours away, and this is all he thinks about.
So, it's no surprise then that he hardly notices Jermaine Dye a few feet away. Dye is preparing to take batting practice in the indoor cage, another indication that his return from the disabled list is getting closer.
This fact seems to have no impact whatsoever on Byrnes, the man who has so magnificently filled in during Dye's absence.
"To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought about it," Byrnes says.
He might be the only one. Dye's return, which figures to occur this week or next, will make for a crowded outfield. Byrnes, a sporadically used outfielder before Dye tore cartilage in his right knee on April 24, has since become one of the A's most potent offensive forces.
Clearly, this is an issue that provokes some thought.
"You know, all I've been doing all year is that whenever I get in there, I'm trying to work my way to my next start," Byrnes says. "It's no different now, and it'll be no different when Jermaine comes back."
Well, one thing could be different. Dye's return might not necessarily signal an extended return to the bench for Byrnes. He has started 21 consecutive games since Dye's injury, and he's astounded. He's hitting .367 with two homers, six doubles, four triples and 16 RBI since the moment of Dye's injury. He has a .437 on-base percentage, has scored 13 runs and has stolen two bases.
The energy he has brought to his team? Well, that can't be measured.
"Eric has had such an impact on our club since the time he's been in there. He's not just contributing, he's helping us win," A's manager Ken Macha says. "He's earned the right to play."
But where? Dye, with his $6.5 million salary, is not heading for the bench. Byrnes already has begun filling in for center fielder Chris Singleton when lefties pitch, but Macha said that's not necessarily a permanent situation.
And right fielder Terrence Long has played 442 straight games, the second-longest active streak on the club and in the majors (both to Miguel Tejada's 475).
"That's up for the Macha and the guys upstairs to decide," Byrnes says with a smile.
Indeed, Byrnes' emergence would seem to give general manager Billy Beane some options. It's unlikely he could peddle Dye, because Dye's salary (he'll make $11 million next year) makes him too pricey for perhaps every team but the New York Yankees. Long might be a more attractive option, though he's hitting only .247 this season and will make $8.5 million from 2004-05. And then there's Byrnes, who may never again have this high a value.
"We don't have to answer that question, yet, because it's not even an issue right now," Beane says. "Having too many good players is not a problem. As far as extrapolating beyond that, it would be foolish."
Just as foolish, Byrnes says, would be to assume he has earned a spot as a regular. Until this stretch, he never had started more than four games in succession during parts of four seasons in the majors. His 96 at-bats this season already has exceeded the number he had last year and is only 46 shy of what he had totaled in his career entering the season.
Such sporadic playing time is not forgotten easily.
"Not even close," Byrnes says, when asked if he feels he's established himself. "I still feel like I'm trying to prove myself every single day. I don't think it'll ever be any different. With the up-and-down nature of our sport, I think that's just how it is."
Well, for Byrnes that is. At 27, he is the poster child for late bloomers. He wasn't selected until the eighth round of the 1998 amateur draft. He had played at UCLA and his athletic ability was impressive. His baseball skills, however, were a different story.
"He was probably the worst outfielder I'd ever seen," says bench coach Bob Geren, who managed Byrnes for four seasons in the minors, starting at Single-A Modesto in 1999. "At the plate, he had no idea. He had some raw ability, but he needed a lot of work."
Nevertheless, it took Byrnes only two full seasons to work his way from "Low-A" Southern Oregon to Triple-A Sacramento. He got his initiation in the majors during a 10-game stint in 2000, spent 19 games with the A's in 2001 and played in 90 games last season after being called up in May.
In that time, he has learned discipline at the plate (he already has walked 13 times this season after doing so only four times last year), and has become refined enough in the outfield that Macha has had no problem using him in center to spell Singleton.
He hasn't done it with natural ability. Byrnes often is at the park three hours before a game, taking fly balls, and during spring training, he often took fly balls after games.
"All of the success he's enjoyed is a direct result of him and him only," Beane says. "He's an amazing individual in what he's accomplished, and where he is. There's no player I've been around that's been more deserving. ... I don't know that I've seen anyone in any industry put the kind of effort into making himself a better player than Eric Byrnes."
What that will mean in the next couple of weeks is not something on which Byrnes is dwelling.
"The toughest thing was making these guys believe I could be a player," he says. "I hope now that they believe in me, because I've always believed in myself."
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