Eric Byrnes, a former big-leaguer player, baseball analyst and author, will be the keynote speaker at the 41st annual Bobby Dolan Baseball Dinner next month.
Byrnes played in the major leagues for 11 seasons, including stints with the Oakland A’s (2000-05), Colorado Rockies (2005), Baltimore Orioles (2005), Arizona Diamondbacks (2006-09) and Seattle Mariners (2010). Byrnes also played 16 games for the Triple-A Reno Aces during that team’s inaugural season in 2009.
Byrnes was best known for his time with the A’s where he batted .270 with 396 hits, 45 homers and 164 RBIs over six seasons. He made his debut for the 2000 AL West championship team before being a full-time player for the the back-to-back 2002-03 division championship squads and 2001 wild-card team. For the Athletics’ celebration of 50 seasons in Oakland ahead of the 2018 campaign, Byrnes was voted by the fans onto the club’s 50th Anniversary Team.
Known for his energetic personality, Byrnes played 963 games in the majors and slashed .258/.320/.439 with 827 career hits, including 109 homers.
Byrnes began his broadcasting career during his playing days ended, serving as an analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight for the 2006 postseason, contributing to Fox’s pregame shows during the World Series and hosting radio shows on San Francisco-based KNBR and XM Satellite Radio. Upon his retirement, he moved full-time into his broadcasting career, spending 11 years with MLB Network (2010-21) in addition to hosting the night-time slot on KNBR. He’s also been a part of ESPN’s coverage of the College World Series and contributed on the Pac-12 Network.
Byrnes, who lives in the Truckee/Tahoe area where he owns a vacation home in Martis Camp, is also the author of three books: “The F*It List: Life Lessons From a Human Crash Test Dummy;” “The Daily Hustle 222: Unfiltered Life Guidance From A Human Crash Test Dummy;” and “Let Them Play: A Parenting and Coaching Guide To Youth Sports.”
The Dolan Baseball Dinner will be held at The Reno Ballroom on Jan. 29. Tickets start at $225 for general admission and $350 for VIP, which includes a meet-and-greet with Byrnes. Tables for 10 are also available for $2,250 at the GA rate and $3,500 for VIP. The event begins with a VIP reception at 5 p.m., with cocktail hour beginning at 6 p.m., and dinner at 6:30 p.m.