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Eric Byrnes

Youth Radio has a dugout chat with the Oakland A's Captain America.

By Mike Oseroff

Mike Oseroff is Youth Radio’s resident sports commentator and columnist. Keep checking this space for his weekly updates! You can email him at sports@youthradio.org.

For the Oakland A’s, it’s been a season of ups and downs so far as the halfway point of the season draws closer. Notorious for slow starts to their seasons, the A’s uncharacteristically burst out of the gates very strong in 2003, and looked primed to run away with the division. However, a serious lack of offense in late May and early June and three straight inter-league series losses have pushed them seven games back in the AL West race, as the A’s find themselves looking up at red-hot Seattle. If history repeats itself, then the A’s can count on another great second-half, but they won’t accomplish that without the run support seriously picking up.

With seemingly spotty and anemic offensive outputs from most of the players, there has however, been a bright spot in the A’s batting order this year, whose story is amazing in itself. Before 2003, Eric Byrnes’s role on the team was strictly limited to pinch running and outfield defense, as his tremendous speed made him a threat on the base-paths and while chasing fly-balls. Despite good hitting numbers in the minors, he was never given the opportunity to play everyday, and remained the team’s 25th man, being shipped back and forth between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento for most of his career. Then, this year, Byrnesy finally got his chance. When slugging outfielder Jermaine Dye went down with a knee injury in late April, manager Ken Macha put Byrnes in his place to perhaps pump a little life into the offense.

What he got was way more than a little “pump.”

Since late April, the 27-year-old rookie, nicknamed “Captain America,” has thrived in his opportunity to play, and has emerged as one of the most consistent and energetic leadoff hitters that the A’s have had in a long time. Hitting .335, with 11 HR and 41 RBIs, Byrnes has brought great speed and offense to the A’s. His crazy style, energy, and disregard for his body have made him a fan favorite, and people everywhere are considering writing his name on the ballot for this month’s upcoming All-Star game.

On June 29th Byrnes, who grew up in the Bay Area as a huge Giants fan, did the unthinkable in front of all of his family and friends. At Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, against the team he grew up idolizing, Byrnes hit for the cycle, going 5-5 with a single, two doubles, a triple, and a home run, a feat only four others in the history of Oakland baseball have accomplished. As he sprinted round the bases in the 9th inning during his final hit (the triple) with ESPN and national TV cameras taping his every move, it finally became official: Eric Byrnes had arrived.

Before June 13th’s inter-league match-up between the A’s and the Montreal Expos, I sat down with Byrnes in the dugout after batting practice to find out a little more about the “sparkplug.”

Youth Radio: How you doing Byrnesy?

Eric Byrnes: Good, I’m doing well. Thanks for having me.

YR: I’ve got a couple questions for you, so I’ll just start it right off. When Jermaine Dye went down in April, and you got the chance to play for him, did you feel any pressure like, I’m gonna have to perform to prove myself?

EB: No. Not really. I didn’t really feel any pressure at all because, you know I kind of just came into a situation where it was a day by day basis, and I figured I’m gonna go out there and do everything I can to succeed, and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough and if it’s not, it’s not. And you know it was my first opportunity to play every day, and I just tried to take advantage of it.

YR: Obviously the team hasn’t been playing the best, or the most consistent baseball right now. What is the mood of the team like? Is it still high morale?

EB: Yeah I think so. You know it’s amazing how much the media can build up really what’s portrayed as the atmosphere around the team, and the mood in the clubhouse and everything. No, I think everyone is still in good spirits, and we know we’re not playing the best, but we figure it’s just a matter of time before we turn it around, because we all believe in the talent that we have here.

YR: It has been, for the A’s, a little while since they’ve had a consistent lead-off hitter, who’ll be there for them. How do you feel, knowing that the team is depending on you to get on base, two or three times a game?

EB: I feel good. You know I like that responsibility. I like the way that everything kind of starts with me, and you know like I said before, I’m just gonna go out there and do everything I can do, and do anything I can to get on base, and try to make something happen.

YR: You play with a lot of energy. Everybody knows that. Where the heck do you get all of that? Where does it come from?

EB: (Laughs) I have no idea. You know I’ve just always been that way, even when I was a kid. It’s just the way I’ve kind of gone about everything in my life, and baseball is no different.

YR: What’s the best part about playing for Oakland?

EB: For me it’s just being able to play at home. I grew up in the Bay Area, and I’m just real excited to be here, and be able to live in my own house.

YR: Where do you see yourself, your career, five, ten years down the road?

EB: I don’t know. You know I usually don’t like to look that far in advance, but hopefully I’ll still be playing, and hopefully I’ll still be playing in Oakland. You know I’m really just one of those guys that tries to seize the moment, enjoy everyday for what it is, and not try to look that far ahead.

YR: If you had one message for the youth of today, what would that be?

EB: Believe in yourself. That’s all.

Check out more of Mike's columns!