So I met Eric Byrnes today...
After my baseball practice, I went to a public hitting cage place in my town that's called Starmakers. It has quite a few things aside from that, like pitching mounds, and some "hang-out" stuff. Anyway, I was in there for a half-hour session, working my *** off hitting (as usual 
). One thing that's unique about me is that I'm a switch hitter, and have been since I was 10 years old. I'll go ahead and say that I have tremendous pop from both sides of the plate.
ANYWAYS, I guess Byrnes caught a glimpse at me hitting, from both sides. He started to compliment my swing, and without looking back I was talking to him. He was wondering what college I went to, and I told him that I was a senior in high school. He was amazed, and suggested that I try to play D1 with that kind of swing. I finally stopped and turned around, and there he was. Ol' Byrnesy. Of course, I let the next 4 minutes go by as my session was ending to start to talk to him. He really admired my swing and stuff, so he decided to go about his business to continue chatting with me and wondering what else I was capable of on the diamond.
About 10 minutes later, he said how he was hugry and how he was going to check out this Mexican (semi-fastfood-ish) restaurant across the street. Generous as he was, he asked me to come along... his treat. It was fantastic. So, for the next hour or so we are eating and talking baseball and life. It was INCREDIBLE!
I'll tell you what Byrnes is like. He's a loud guy with a lot of heart in whatever he wants to tell you it seems like. He reminds me of a surfer type with the lingo that he has. He really just seemed like a kid to me, though he's 29 or whatever. He told me about himself growing up a Giants fan, how he progressed from a kid in Alpine Little League to now signing with the Diamondbacks. He told me some stories about in the clubhouse and dugout with some players, etc. Then, it was my turn to speak... while I don't have much of a history to tell, I told him about future goals. Everything I said to him, he just kept saying, "Don't give up. Don't let anyone else tell you what you can or can't do. It's all up to your body, mind, and heart." Well, you know... that kind of stuff.
It was just totally fantastic. An hour with Eric Byrnes, and he welcomed me in his dinner plans... a complete stranger, a 17 year old kid. I had a great time.
By the way, his favorite baseball video game last year was MLB 2K5.
). One thing that's unique about me is that I'm a switch hitter, and have been since I was 10 years old. I'll go ahead and say that I have tremendous pop from both sides of the plate.ANYWAYS, I guess Byrnes caught a glimpse at me hitting, from both sides. He started to compliment my swing, and without looking back I was talking to him. He was wondering what college I went to, and I told him that I was a senior in high school. He was amazed, and suggested that I try to play D1 with that kind of swing. I finally stopped and turned around, and there he was. Ol' Byrnesy. Of course, I let the next 4 minutes go by as my session was ending to start to talk to him. He really admired my swing and stuff, so he decided to go about his business to continue chatting with me and wondering what else I was capable of on the diamond.
About 10 minutes later, he said how he was hugry and how he was going to check out this Mexican (semi-fastfood-ish) restaurant across the street. Generous as he was, he asked me to come along... his treat. It was fantastic. So, for the next hour or so we are eating and talking baseball and life. It was INCREDIBLE!
I'll tell you what Byrnes is like. He's a loud guy with a lot of heart in whatever he wants to tell you it seems like. He reminds me of a surfer type with the lingo that he has. He really just seemed like a kid to me, though he's 29 or whatever. He told me about himself growing up a Giants fan, how he progressed from a kid in Alpine Little League to now signing with the Diamondbacks. He told me some stories about in the clubhouse and dugout with some players, etc. Then, it was my turn to speak... while I don't have much of a history to tell, I told him about future goals. Everything I said to him, he just kept saying, "Don't give up. Don't let anyone else tell you what you can or can't do. It's all up to your body, mind, and heart." Well, you know... that kind of stuff.
It was just totally fantastic. An hour with Eric Byrnes, and he welcomed me in his dinner plans... a complete stranger, a 17 year old kid. I had a great time.
By the way, his favorite baseball video game last year was MLB 2K5.
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