Two-years ago Arizona said goodbye to Eric Byrnes, his
signature throw-and-flips in the outfield and explosive
home runs.

January 20 marks the anniversary of the release of the
centerfielder from the Diamondbacks.

Byrnes’ D-backs career started off well, with the
outfielder hitting a team-leading 26 home runs in 2006 and
leading a playoff push in 2007. Byrnes played so well, in
fact, that the team gave him a three-year contract
extension worth $30 million midway in the ’07 season.

Things fell apart pretty quickly after that.

Byrnes hit just .176 in the NLCS that season, collecting
just three hits and two RBI. He struck out three times.

Byrnes suffered a hamstring injury the following spring,
and the 2009 season was marred by a broken left hand. He
was reassigned on Jan. 15, 2010, a
decision the organization thought would be best for
Byrnes.

Byrnes then signed with the Seattle Mariners, only to play
15 games with them before retiring, but still earned $11
million from the D-backs because of the contract.

Byrnes has been spending his time away from baseball
playing slow-pitch softball and hosting a radio show. He
was hired at KNBR in California as a talk host for pre-
and post-game shows for the San Francisco Giants. He’s
also a contributor for the MLB Network.

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