Former Oakland A's Fan Fave Eric Byrnes Earning $11M to Play Beer-League Softball

By Joe Eskenazi Fri., May 7 2010 at 12:01 AM

Categories: Sports

Now batting for the Dutch Goose softball squad...

You could say Eric Byrnes was demoted -- but that's a very un-dude way of looking at things.

The former Oakland Athletic-turned journeyman left his pro baseball career with both a bang and a whimper this week. After, for lack of better words, fucking up a game in a manner likely heretofore unknown to man, he inexplicably rode a bicycle through the Seattle Mariners' clubhouse, whizzing past his unamused employers.

Days later, on May 3, he was cut off the team. And now, he's being paid a cool $11 million a year to play beer-league softball in the Bay Area. Reported MLB.com:

While his Major League days may be over, his playing days are not. The 34-year-old filled his first two days after his release on the golf course, and he was headed to play in a recreational softball league with his friends Wednesday evening.

That's right, the man the Arizona Diamondbacks are paying $11 million this year in the final year of a three-year deal is going to star for a team sponsored by Dutch Goose, a burger and beer pub in Menlo Park, Calif.

Byrnes is still receiving checks from his three-year, $30 million contract with Arizona, incidentally, because the team decided it was better off paying him to play elsewhere earlier this year. You can peruse his statistics and draw your own conclusions.

Incidentally, Byrnes hasn't yet earned a starting spot on the Dutch Goose softball squad. "I believe he was just a guest player," a restaurant employee told SF Weekly. Asked if the team won thanks to the contributions of a player who'd been facing Major League pitching as recently as the weekend, the employee replied "I believe they did."

Our call to Dutch Goose owner Greg Stern hasn't yet been returned. Among the questions we'd love to ask: