A native of Northern California, Eric was born in Redwood City, California, and attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View.  He shined for the Lancers on the baseball diamond, as well as the football field, where he scored 14 touchdowns as a senior running back.  After graduation, Eric headed to UCLA to play baseball for the Bruins.  After a stellar career at UCLA, he began his professional career in 1998, when was signed by Rick Magnante and the Oakland Athletics.  Byrnes quickly made his presence known with the A's, leading the club's farm system in batting, with a .357 average (99 for 277) in 71 games with Visalia and Southern Oregon.