Eric Byrnes

I said, hey, Bob.

I said, Eric Byrnes, a huge fan.

I actually played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And he goes, Fernsie, shut the fuck up, man.

Terrence Long was hitting.

Eric Burns should have been pinch running.

Who's third base coach?

Ron Washington.

And he was, there's a huge arc.

And then he showed me how to do it, how to actually run the bases and why it cost him three seconds.

And I was like, wow that's amazing eric burns should have been running bench running first of all we tie up that game it's a whole whole different situation the third thing is shane spencer the right fielder overthrows two people this is a major league team right when you have a cutoff and relay you have one backup guy don't even make it like this is the big leagues dude hit the cutoff man like he goes down in the corner air mails it and jeter's sprinting kind of past the pitcher's mound to go grab it and throw it and what a great play it was you'll never see that play again one because this is the big leagues and two is just like how do you even practice like why would you even practice that play it was it was like the perfect storm for let's give credit for Derek for being there.

They did practice that.

We're not gonna talk about Miguel Tejada at all.

We're just gonna talk about [laughs] Eric Byrnes? Sorry, Tejada.

I-- I digress.

Crystal Palace puts itself on the market.

Yeah.

But A.J. Buckley, who's a very good friend of mine from CBS SEAL team, Eric Burns, he's on the Major League Baseball Network.

He played for the Oakland Athletics and the Mariners and the Diamondbacks, UCLA Hall of Fame, trying to get him out there with us.

And really just to have a really kind of a bonding experience where during the day, everybody's kind of pushing themselves and pushing their limits and riding through the desert.

As far as Gurriel, um, I don't know, man.

I mean, my years covering the Diamondbacks, like, going all the way back to, like, Eric Burns, uh, Cody Ross, when these guys on the wrong side of 30 have a major injury, they have a really hard time.

Um, I just think, like, the, the...

It's a really thin edge, a, a razor's edge of, like, being a slightly above average big leaguer to being not even really a big leaguer at all, you know? I, and I, I think when you lose that kind of athleticism, even if you feel great, you feel like yourself, it can, it can be a career-changing situation.

The great Ron Washington right here on A's Cast Live.

Does anybody excite you more than Eric Byrnes? When you talk about A's greatness and you talk about one of the all-time fan favorites and what he's doing now in his career, Eric, it's been a while since we've had you on.

How is life? How's the family? How's everything going?

Tony, everyone's great, man.

Picked up the phone.

And then I was like, I'm like, hi, this is Mary.

Hey, Mary, Eric Byrnes, is Billy around? She's like, oh, no, no, he'll be back shortly, though.

I said, cool, I'll meet him in the parking lot.

I hope, I hope that plays out well for him.

And then also the guy we got in the trade with the Red Sox for Eric Miller, Mayer, uh, Marcelo Mayer.

Yeah, Marcelo Mayer, yeah.

Legit.

All right? So the whole thing moves, and you can keep your head behind the bat like that, and like you said, catch the ball.

You're just catching it like that, and you're deadening it.

Good call right there, Eric Burns.

Yeah.