Eric James Byrnes (burns)...married to Tarah, who won Ms. California USA in
2002...couple has one daughter, Chloe Laine...1994 graduate of St. Francis High School
in Mountain View, CA...attended UCLA from 1995-98, where he was teammates with
Garrett Atkins (Baltimore) and Troy Glaus (Atlanta)...ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-10
record books in several offensive categories, including doubles (T2nd, 75), at-bats (3rd,
984), total bases (4th, 557), hits (5th, 326) and RBI (T9th, 203)...two-time All-Pac-10
South selection (1995, 1997)...during the 2007-08 seasons, was a weekly correspondent
for FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show" and taped segments for the FOX Saturday Baseball
Pregame Show...also was interviewed live from San Francisco's McCovey Cove during
the 2007 All-Star Game at AT&T Park on FOX and served as a pre-game show analyst
during FOX's 2007 World Series broadcasts...had his own show ("The Eric Byrnes Show")
on Fox Sports Arizona during 2007-08...worked as a studio analyst for ESPN during the
2006 National League Division Series and for FOX during the World Series during the
network's World Series coverage...has hosted a radio show on XM Radio, "Hustle with
Eric Byrnes".
2009
Appeared in 82 games, starting
in 57 games, with the Arizona
Diamondbacks...Missed two and a half months
with a fractured left hand...Hit a pair of walk-off singles; April
14 vs. St. Louis and May 30 vs.
Atlanta...Hit first career pinch-hit home run
on the April 15 vs. St. Louis...Placed on the disabled list on
June 26 with a left hand fracture,
suffered on June 25 after being
struck by a pitch from Texas RHP
Scott Feldman...Hit .279 (19x68) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 9 RBI and an .833 OPS in a 16-
game rehab assignment at Reno (AAA)...Reinstated from the disabled list Sept. 5...appeared in 22 games through the remainder
of the season, batting .267 (12x45) with 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 7 RBI...Went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI Oct. 2 and Chicago (NL)...6th career 2-homer
game and 2nd career game with at least 5 RBI...Designated for assignment by Arizona on Jan. 15, 2010.
2008
Played in only 52 games while nursing troublesome hamstring injuries in both legs
throughout the season...Placed on the disabled list on May 27 with a right hamstring strain...missed 25 games
on the DL until he was reinstated on June 23 and started in leftfield in the D-backs'
2-1 win at Boston that night...Started 5 of the team's next 6 games until suffering a left hamstring strain while attempting
to steal third base on June 30 vs. Milwaukee...was placed on the 15-day disabled list
on July 1 and later transferred to the 60-day DL on July 22, ending his season...Hit safely in 14 straight games from April 4-19, batting .362 (21-for-58) over that
stretch...the 14-game hitting streak was the third-longest of his career...Slugged his first career grand slam on May 25 at Atlanta, a fifth-inning shot to put the
D-backs up for good in a 9-3 win.
2007
Career year saw him hit 21 home runs and steal 50 bases, becoming the first D-back to collect a 20/50 season...was the fourth D-backs player to collect 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season, the second time in his career (26 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 2006)...Stole 30 consecutive bases without getting caught from July 7-Sept. 17, the longest streak in the Majors in 2007...Set a career-high by reaching base safely in 31 consecutive games from May 5-June 8, the fourth-longest streak in franchise history (tied with Matt Williams; Sept. 5, 1999-June 5, 2000, overlapping seasons)...During the consecutive game streak, had a season-high and team-high 15-game hit streak from May 23-June 8, batting .403 (25-for-62) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and 11 RBI...Collected a hit in 7 consecutive at-bats on June 19 & 20, tying the franchise record last done by Alex Cintron on Sept. 27 & 28 in 2003...Hit .297 vs. right-handed pitching, bettering his previous high of .260 set in 2004...he is a career .256 hitter off right-handed pitching...Started in his second consecutive Opening Day lineup with the D-backs since being signed as a free agent prior to the 2006 season...Reached base safely in the first 8 games, batting .343 (12-for-35) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 7 RBI over that stretch.
Hit home runs in back-to-back games on 3 occasions (May 8 & 9 vs. Philadelphia, July 26 & 27 vs. Florida & Atlanta, and Sept. 3 & 4 vs. San Diego)...Had a 12-game hit streak from May 5-18, batting .348 (16-for-46) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs and 6 RBI...Hit 2 solo home runs on May 30 at Philadelphia, his fifth career game with 2 home runs...Was 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and 3 RBI on June 20 against Tampa Bay, the fifth 4-hit game of his career...Hit safely in 18 of 19 games from June 15-July 4 (.329, 27-for-82), including two 9-game hit streaks...Led off game with a home run 3 times, something he has now done 7 times in his career...Entered the All-Star break with 110 hits, the highest first half total of his career and tied for fifth in the National League...Strung together an 8-game hit streak from July 20-27, batting .323 (10-for-31) with 2 home runs and 8 RBI, including home runs on consecutive days (July 26 & 27 vs. Florida and Atlanta)...The home run on July 27 was a 3-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning, the second of his career, and the first in a string of 3 consecutive walk-off victories for the D-backs...Recorded a .987 fielding percentage, committing a career-high 5 errors over a career-high 1390.0 innings...spent the majority of the season patrolling left field (970.0 innings)...Ranked fourth in the National League with 12 outfield assists...Did not appear as a pinch hitter all season for the first time in his career.
2006
After struggling in 2005 while playing for three different teams, Byrnes set several career highs with the D-Backs in 2006, including home runs (26), RBIs (79) and stolen bases (25). He hit .267 on the season and is expected to be the starting left fielder in 2007.
2005
Rockies were the 2nd of 3 teams for Byrnes in '05, as he played just 15 games in a Colorado uniform before he was dealt again...the 29-year-old outfielder had been with Oakland his entire professional career before he was acquired by Colorado on the day after the All-Star Game...joined the Rox after batting .266 with 7 home runs and 24 RBI in 59 games for the Athletics in the first half...batted .189 (10-for-53) with 2 doubles and 5 RBI in 15 games with the Rockies...started 14 of final 15 games with Colorado...went 5-for-17 (.294) with a double and 3 RBI in first 4 NL games, but hit just .139 (5-for-36) with a double and 2 RBI in final 11 contests before he was traded to Baltimore...hit .192 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI in 52 games for the O's...for the year, batted .226 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI in 126 total games for Oakland, Colorado and Baltimore.
2004
Had the best season of his career as he hit .283 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI, all career highs...also posted career bests
in games (143), at bats (569), runs (91), hits (161), doubles (39), walks (46), stolen bases (17), on-base percentage (.347) and
slugging (.467)...his 20 home runs were two more than his career total of 18 entering the season, marking the second consecutive
season he has hit more home runs than his career total entering the season...his career high batting average was
aided by a .344 (54 for 157) mark against left handed pitching, the third best mark against southpaws in the American
League...it was the fourth best mark by an Athletic since 1974 (minimum 150 plate appearances)...hit seven of his 20 home
runs against left handed pitching and 16 of his 38 career home runs have come against southpaws...has a .306 (116 for 379)
career average against left-handers and .253 (189 for 746) against right-handers...was successful in 17 of his 18 (94.4%)
stolen bases attempts and is now 33 for 37 (89.2%) in his career...since 1996, only two Athletics have stolen more bases in
a season than his 17 in 2004 (Rickey Henderson, 66 in 1998; Johnny Damon, 27 in 2001)...led the A's in stolen bases, runs,
doubles and hit by pitches (12)...his 91 runs scored were the fewest by an A's team leader since Jason Giambi had 66 in
1997...the hit by pitches tied for 10th in the AL and tied for the seventh best single season total in Oakland history...had 11
assists which tied for fourth among AL outfielders...tied with Mark Kotsay for the team lead in outfield assists and they had
the most assists by an A's outfielder since Matt Stairs had 13 in 1999...made a total of 137 starts for the A's, all in the outfield...
spent most of the season as the A's left fielder where he made 98 starts, but he also made 22 starts in center field and
17 in right field...made 60 starts hitting second and 38 batting first...hit .307 (51 for 166) with seven home runs as the A's
leadoff hitter...led off the game with a home run on June 6 against Toronto and June 12 against Pittsburgh...now has four
career leadoff home runs which ties Tony Phillips for third most in Oakland history behind Rickey Henderson (43) and Bert Campaneris (10)...nine of his home runs either tied the game or put the A's ahead as did 27 of his 73 RBI...got off to a strong
start for the second consecutive season as he batted .327 (17 for 52) in April and .281 (27 for 96) in May...now has a .313
(101 for 323) career average in the first two months of the season...hit his first career "walk-off" home run on May 7 against
Minnesota, a two-run shot in the bottom of the 13th inning off Terry Mulholland in the A's 11-9 win...had his first of three twohomer
games on June 12 against Pittsburgh, the first three multi-homer games of his career...had back-to-back three hit
games on June 12 and 13 against the Pirates which put his batting average at .308...then went 22 for 110 (.200) over a 30-
game stretch from June 15 to July 22 which dropped his season average to .269...had a career long 0 for 18 streak from
June 23 to 29...had his second career two-homer game on July 4 at San Francisco and went 3 for 4 in that game with a
career high six RBI...had six home runs and 21 RBI over a 12-game stretch from July 23 to August 4 and batted .429 (18 for
42) over that span...that included his third career two-homer game on July 30 at Texas...was named AL Player of the Week
for the week of July 26 to August 1 after going 11 for 25 (.440) with seven runs, two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI...it
was his first career Player of the Week award...drove in at least one run in six consecutive games from July 23 to 28 (12
total)...finished July with eight home runs and 24 RBI in 24 games...the home runs and RBI were his most ever in a
month...was successful in each of his first 10 stolen base attempts and had 11 consecutive stolen bases dating back to 2003
when he was caught stealing third base by Ivan Rodriguez on August 10...had a season best 12-game hitting streak from
August 6 to 17 (16 for 56, .286)...hit .311 (37 for 119) in August, his second of two months over .300...batted .333 (13 for
39) against Boston and now has a .364 (20 for 55) career average against the Red Sox, his best against any AL team...had
four home runs and 12 RBI against Texas and now has eight home
runs and 22 RBI in his career against the Rangers, both his best
figures against any team.
2003
Replaced the injured Jermaine Dye on April 24 and for the next nine weeks of the season, he was one of the hottest players in baseball...beginning on April 24, he hit .352 (83 for 236) with 11 home runs and 41 RBI over a 59-game stretch that culminated on June 29 when he hit for the cycle at San Francisco...then went 9 for 95 (.095) over his next 28 games through August 14 and finished the year at .263...had career highs in every offensive category, including a team leading nine triples...the triples tied for the third best total in Oakland history and were the most by an Athletic since Luis Polonia had 10 in 1987...ranked tied for fourth in the American League in triples...tied for the team lead with 10 stolen bases...had 12 home runs and 51 RBI in 121 games after entering the season with six home runs and 16 RBI in 119 career games...batted .380 (49 for 129) as a left fielder and .216 (60 for 278) as a center fielder...made 77 starts in center field and 31 in left field and also appeared in two games in right field...hit .270 (61 for 226) in the leadoff spot and made 54 starts batting first which was second on the club to Mark Ellis...made 67 consecutive starts from April 25 to July 9, including 48 consecutive starts in the leadoff spot from May 17 to July 9...made the A's opening day roster after batting .360 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 24 spring training games...tied for fifth in the Cactus League in home runs and led the A's in RBI...appeared in nine of the A's first 17 games, making five starts...replaced Dye in the fifth inning on April 24 against Detroit after he tore cartilage in his right knee fielding a Dean Palmer double...had his first multiple hit game of the season that day and moved into the starting line-up on April 25...had seven consecutive games with an extra base hit from May 8 to 15 (four doubles, three triples, one homer)...that began a career-high 22 game hitting streak from May 8 to June 1, during which he hit .376 (32 for 85) with 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI...it was the fourth longest hitting streak in Oakland history and the third longest hitting streak in the A.L. in 2003...went 0 for 9 in his next two games before putting together a 10-game hitting streak from June 5 to 15 (15 for 40, .375)...had the hitting streak snapped on June 17 and then put together a 13-game hitting streak from June 18 to 30 (21 for 59, .356)...had a career high four RBI on May 15 at Detroit...homered in all three games of the Montreal series, June 13-15, the first time he had homered in three straight games in his career...tied an Oakland record with a career high five hits on June 29 at San Francisco when he hit for the cycle...singled in the first, doubled in the second, homered in the fifth, doubled again in the seventh and then completed the cycle with a two-out triple in the ninth inning...it was the 16th cycle in Athletics history, the fifth since the franchise moved to Oakland...it was the first cycle by an A's outfielder since Elmer Valo at Chicago on August 2, 1950...ended up batting .500 (13 for 26) in six games against the Giants, his best average against any team in 2003...hit .373 (28 for 75) with four home runs and 18 runs scored in interleague play, all of which were the best figures on the A's...batted .356 in May and .322 in June with 26 runs scored, the third most runs in the A.L. in the month and the most runs scored in one month by an Athletic since Jason Giambi had 26 in September, 2000...at the end of June, he had hit safely in 23 of his last 24 games and 45 of his last 48 and was batting .335 overall...that was the fifth best average in the A.L., his highest ranking of the season...then hit .095 (7 for 74) in 20 games in July...since 1974, that was the lowest one-month batting average by an Oakland player with a minimum of 75 plate appearances...previous low was .129 by Don Baylor in April of 1976...he became just the fourth major leaguer since 1974 to hit under .100 in a month with a minimum of 75 plate appearances...joins Don Baylor (.062 in April, 1981 with California), Royce Clayton (.083 in May, 2003 with Milwaukee) and Greg Vaughn (.099 in April, 2002 with Tampa Bay)...snapped a career long 0 for 17 slump on July 20...appeared in just 12 of the A's 28 game from July 22 to August 20 before ending his 9 for 95 slump with a two-hit game at Boston on August 21...the slump had dropped his average 66 points to .270 but he went 7 for 17 (.412) over a nine-game stretch from August 21 to September 8...replaced the injured Chris Singleton in center field on September 9 and started 16 of the A's final 18 games (8 for 49, .163)...snapped a 39-game, 121-at bat homerless streak on September 11 against Anaheim...the A's won that game and were 9-3 in games in which homered in 2003...are 14-4 (.778) when he homers in his career...the home run was a two-run shot and seven of his 12 home runs came with men on base (three two-run, four three-run).
2002
Began the season at Triple-A Sacramento but was recalled to Oakland on May 8 and spent the remainder of the season with the A's...most of his playing time came as a late inning defensive replacement or as a pinch runner...appeared in 90 games but had just 94 at bats...pinch ran 27 times and had 45 games where he did not bat...appeared in 52 games in left field, 22 in right field and 10 in center field...made 19 starts (10 in left, six in right and three in center) and was 17 for 66 (.258) in those games...made just eight starts after the All-Star Break and just three over the final 40 games...batted .245 for the season but fared better in Oakland where he hit .351 (13 for 37) with two of his three home runs compared to .175 (10 for 57) on the road...was 2 for 11 (.182) with five strikeouts as a pinch hitter but is 5 for 17 (.294) in his career in the pinch...had a two-run triple in his 2002 A's debut on May 8 against Boston, matching his career high for RBI...then had his first career three-hit game in a start in left field on May 16 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park...both of his triples in 2002 came against Boston and he was 5 for 7 (.714) in four games against the Red Sox...started four of the A's seven games from May 11 to 18 and was 4 for 16 (.250)...hit his first home run of the season on June 6 against Seattle in a start in right field...second home run came in the final game before the All-Star Break on July 7 against Kansas City in a start in left field...matched his career high with two RBI in that game...had just three RBI after the break...including a career high tying two on September 28 at Texas when he also hit his third home run of the season and scored three times...appeared in two Division Series games against Minnesota and batted once...struck out as a pinch hitter to end Game 4...hit .261 with four home runs, 16 RBI and five stolen bases in 31 games at Sacramento...his average broke down to .389 (7 for 18) against left handed pitching and .238 (24 for 101) with all four of his home runs against right handers...batted .389 (7 for 18) with runners in scoring position and two outs...appeared in 17 games in left field and 13 in center field...hit .174 (8 for 46) over his first 12 games and .315 (23 for 73) over his final 19...played for Licey in the Dominican Republic and batted .244 (22 for 90) with five home runs and 13 RBI in 23 games.
Career:1998-led the A's farm system in batting in his first professional season as he combined to hit .357 (99 for 277) in 71 games at Southern Oregon and Visalia...was assigned to Southern Oregon of the Northwest League (A) after signing and hit .314 with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 42 games...promoted to Single-A Visalia on July 31 and batted .426 in 29 games with four home runs and 21 RBI...added 18 walks for a .504 on-base percentage...was named California League Player of the Week for the week of August 24-30...then went 1 for 7 with two walks in two playoff games with the Oaks.
1999-was named to the California League Post-Season All-Star team after leading the Cal League with a .337 average and ranking third with a .433 on-base percentage...finished second at Modesto in stolen bases (28) and third in walks (58) despite playing in just 96 games...was promoted to Double-A Midland on July 20 but hit just .238 in 43 games with the Rockhounds...combined at both stops for a .306 batting average, 88 RBI, 75 walks, 34 steals and a .398 on-base percentage in 139 games...was 10th in the A's organization in batting and fourth in stolen bases...was transferred back to Modesto on September 5 for the playoffs and hit .176 (3 for 17) with four walks in five games.
2000-made his major league debut with Oakland in 2000 and had two separate stints with the A's...originally selected from Sacramento on August 22 and made his debut that night at Cleveland with a start at designated hitter...singled off Chuck Finley in the second inning for his first major league hit...had two hits in that game, scored two runs and also stole a base...appeared in one more game before he was optioned back to Sacramento on August 27 but returned on September 11 following the Pacific Coast League playoffs...appeared in eight games, one start (right field) during his second stint and was 1 for 4...hit .300 in 10 games overall with the A's...began the year at Double-A Midland and hit .301 with 43 walks in 67 games with the Rockhounds before he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on June 17...stole a team leading 21 bases despite playing in less than half of Midland's games...was named Texas League Player of the Week for the week of June 5 to 11 after hitting .345 (10 for 29) with 12 RBI...appeared in 58 games in right field and 11 in left field...moved up to Sacramento on June 17 and put together a 15-game hitting streak from July 14-30 (23 for 55, .418)...was a perfect 5 for 5 on August 16 against Salt Lake...was batting .346 with nine home runs and 43 RBI in 58 games when he was selected by Oakland on August 22...compiled a .396 (19 for 48) batting average against left handed pitching with the River Cats...appeared in 50 games in left field and one in right field...combined at both minor league stops for a .317 (159 for 502) batting average, 48 doubles, 14 home runs, 84 RBI, 74 walks and 33 stolen bases in 134 games...his double total led all of minor league baseball...then hit .364 with a home run, three RBI and five runs scored in five playoff games...batted .265 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 34 games for Phoenix in the Arizona Fall League.
2001-had four separate stints with the A's but saw most of his action at Triple-A Sacramento...hit .237 in 19 games with Oakland and .289 in 100 games with the River Cats...stole 25 bases at Triple-A which tied for second in the Pacific Coast League...recalled for the first time on May 2 and was 0 for 2 in two games before he was optioned on May 9...returned on May 20 and was 3 for 15 (.200) in eight games, three starts... hit his first major league home run on June 9 against San Francisco off Shawn Estes... was optioned again on June 15 and returned on June 30...struck out four times on July 2 against Anaheim and was 3 for 9 in four games in his third stint when he was optioned again on July 4...returned on September 10 after the conclusion of the Sacramento season and was 3 for 12 (.250) with a home run and two RBI in five games...the home run led off the game against Anaheim on September 26...was on the A's Division Series roster against New York and was 0 for 2 in two pinch hitting appearances...made a total of eight starts with the A's (four in left field and two each in center and right field)...spent the balance of his season with Sacramento where he led the River Cats in runs scored (81) and stolen bases (25) and ranked second in home runs (20)...hit .289 which ranked fourth in the A's farm system...appeared in 71 games in left field, 34 in center field and six at designated hitter...was 8 for 20 (.400) in the PCL playoffs...was named MVP of the Dominican Winter League after hitting .345 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI while playing for Licey...led the league in hits (60), tied for the lead in home runs, ranked second in batting and RBI, tied for second in runs (36), third in slugging (.598) and extra base hits (21) and fifth in on-base percentage (.402).
2001
Had four separate stints with the A's but saw most of his action at Triple-A Sacramento...hit .237 in 19 games with Oakland and .289 in 100 games with the River Cats...stole 25 bases at Triple-A which tied for second in the Pacific Coast League...recalled for the first time on May 2 and was 0 for 2 in two games before he was optioned on May 9...returned on May 20 and appeared in eight games, making three starts...was 3 for 15 (.200) during his second stint and hit his first major league home run on June 9 against San Francisco off Shawn Estes...that was his last appearance before he was optioned again on June 15...brought back to Oakland on June 30 and started that night in Texas...was 2 for 3 with two walks, three runs, two RBI and his second major league home run...struck out four times on July 2 against Anaheim and was 3 for 9 in four games in his second stint when he was optioned again on July 4...returned on September 10 after the conclusion of the Sacramento season and was 3 for 12 (.250) with a home run and two RBI in five games...the home run led off the game against Anaheim on September 26...was on the A's Division Series roster against New York and was 0 for 2 in two pinch hitting appearances...made a total of eight starts with the A's (four in left field and two each in center and right field)...spent the balance of his season with Sacramento where he led the River Cats in runs scored (81) and stolen bases (25) and ranked second in home runs (20)...hit .289 which ranked fourth in the A's farm system...hit leadoff most of the season and batted .257 (69 for 268) in the one spot with 20 walks...appeared in 71 games in left field, 34 in center field and six at designated hitter...had an 11-game hitting streak from April 10 to 21 (19 for 47, .404) and was hitting .298 when the A's first called on May 2...then hit .303 (10 for 33) with two home runs and six RBI in eight games from May 10 to 19 before starting his second stint with the A's...appeared in 13 games from June 16 to 29 and batted .254...returned to Sacramento for the final time on July 4 and hit .293 with 13 HR and 29 RBI over his final 54 games...had his best month in July when he batted .336 with seven home runs, 15 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 24 games...including his first of two four-hit games on July 8 against Tucson...had a season high three RBI on two occasions, both in a four-game series at Tucson at the end of August...was 8 for 20 (.400) in the PCL playoffs...was named MVP of the Dominican Winter League after hitting .345 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI while playing for Licey...led the league in hits (60), tied for the lead in home runs, ranked second in batting and RBI, tied for second in runs (36), third in slugging (.598) and extra base hits (21) and fifth in on-base percentage (.402).
2000
Made his major league debut with Oakland with two separate stints ... originally selected from Sacramento on August 22 and made his debut that night at Cleveland with a start at designated hitter ... singled off Chuck Finley in the second inning for his first major league hit ... had two hits in that game, scored two runs and also stole a base ... appeared in one more game before he was optioned back to Sacramento on August 27 but returned on September 11 following the Pacific Coast League playoffs ... appeared in eight games, one start (right field) during his second stint and was 1 for 4 ... pinch ran in five of those games ... the hit was a pinch hit single on September 30 against Texas ... hit .300 (3 for 10) in 10 games overall with the A's ... began the year at Double-A Midland and hit .301 with 43 walks in 67 games with the Rockhounds before he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on June 17 ... stole a team leading 21 bases despite playing in less than half of Midland's games ... started the season by hitting .278 (10 for 36) over his first 11 games but then had his first of two four-hit games with Midland on April 16 at San Antonio ... finished April with a .293 batting average but then hit .333 in May with 21 walks and 13 stolen bases in 29 games ... was named Texas League Player of the Week for the week of June 5 to 11 after hitting .345 (10 for 29) with 12 RBI ... drove in at least one run in six consecutive games from June 7-12 (13 total) ... appeared in 58 games in right field and 11 in left field ... moved up to Sacramento on June 17 and hit safely in 16 of his first 18 games (25 for 63, .397) ... had nine multiple hit games over that span and added five home runs and 18 RBI after collecting five home runs and 37 RBI in 67 games with Midland ... average dropped to the .329 mark on July 13 but he then put together a 15-game hitting streak from July 14-30 (23 for 55, .418) to boost his average to .366 ... was a perfect 5 for 5 with two doubles and a home run on August 16 against Salt Lake as part of a four-game series where he was 10 for 18 with four doubles, two home runs and four RBI ... was batting .346 (74 for 214) with nine home runs and 43 RBI in 58 games when he was selected by Oakland on August 22 ... went 7 for 29 (.241) over his final nine games to finish his Triple-A portion of the season with a .333 batting average, nine home runs, 47 RBI and 23 doubles in 67 games ... compiled a .396 (19 for 48) batting average against left handed pitching with the River Cats ... appeared in 50 games in left field and one in right field ... combined at both minor league stops for a .317 (159 for 502) batting average, 48 doubles, 14 home runs, 84 RBI, 74 walks and 33 stolen bases in 134 games ... then hit .364 with a home run, three RBI and five runs scored in five playoff games.
1999
Was named to the California League Post-Season All-Star team after leading the Cal League with a .337 average and ranking third with a .433 on-base percentage...finished second at Modesto in stolen bases (28) and third in walks (58) despite playing in just 96 games...was promoted to Double-A Midland on July 20 but hit just .238 in 43 games with the Rockhounds...combined at both stops for a .306 batting average, 88 RBI, 75 walks, 34 steals and a .398 on-base percentage in 139 games...was 10th in the A's organization in batting and fourth in stolen bases...was transferred back to Modesto on September 5 for the playoffs and hit .176 (3 for 17) with four walks in five games.
1998
Led the A's farm system in batting in his first professional season as he combined to hit .357 (99 for 277) in 71 games at Southern Oregon and Visalia...was assigned to Southern Oregon of the Northwest League (A) after signing and hit .314 with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 42 games...promoted to Single-A Visalia on July 31 and batted .426 in 29 games with four home runs and 21 RBI...added 18 walks for a .504 on-base percentage...was named California League Player of the Week for the week of August 24-30...then went 1 for 7 with two walks in two playoff games with the Oaks.
