From time to time, I like to take a look back and think of what could have been if certain players still played for my team. Since my favorite team is Oakland, there are a lot of players that have been traded away or that have been let go because of free agency.
I plan on making this a series of articles because there are quite a few players that have been traded away from this organization and they are now flourishing with their "new" teams.
The player I want to talk about today is Eric Brynes.
Oakland drafted Brynes in the 8th round in 1998. It was the third time he had been drafted (1994 and 1997). He signed with them 10 days after being drafted and started his way up the charts of the organization.
In the 2000 and 2001 seasons, he had a couple short lived stays on the big club, but nothing spectacular. In 2002 he was on the squad for 90 games and had 94 at bats. Nothing to be excited about. It wasn't until the 2003 season when Byrnes finally broke through as an everyday player. He batted .263 with 12 home runs and 51 rbi to go along with 10 stolen bases. He improved on those numbers in the 2004 season with his average jumping to .283 and knocking out 20hr, 73rbi, and 17sb.
This had me excited for the 2005 season. A fun player to watch, he was quickly becoming a fan favorite. Not only was he a rising offensive star, his energy on defense was equally as impressive. He only lasted until July of that season before he was traded to Colorado for Joe Kennedy and Jay Witasick, both of whom were on the team at the start of this season. Two weeks later he was traded to Baltimore for Larry Bigbie. After the 2005 season, Byrnes was not in the Orioles' future plans they decided and he was granted free agency.
Arizona quickly signed him to a contract to help them with their "re-building" process. Mainly, they just were waiting on their young draft studs to come to the big leagues. However, Byrnes has impressed with his bat and his glove while in Arizona. He set a career high in home runs (26), rbi (79), and stolen bases (25) in the 2006 season.
This season Byrnes is on track to top all of his career highs and possibly set a new career high in batting average. He is currently hitting .300 with 18hr, 67rbi, and 31sb. He would be leading Oakland in all of those categories along with runs, on-base percentage, slugging, and on-base plus slugging.
Oakland's offense is near the bottom of the league in all offensive categories right now and could have definitely used Byrne's bat, glove, and leadership. Oh, what could have been.
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Comments
Yes, I left that out along with the fact that Byrnes just signed a three year, 30 million dollar contract extension with the D-Backs.
I got so tired of typing this morning, that I simply forgot those two tidbits of knowledge. "The Tickler" will go down next to Verne Lundquist's saying in the NCAA tournament. "Must be nice to bag a former Miss Sweden."
I also like that in the baseball postseason last year, Byrnes flexed his analysis muscles. It was quite the scene to see him on set with Jeanne Zelasko and Kevin Kennedy as they discussed Spezio's red fu-manchu facial hair. He was quick to inform Jeanne that that little cut/style was referred to as "The Tickler". Jeanne was very obviously embarassed and caught off guard. It was awesome. Byrnes is a beast in all facets!!!