Byrnes’ winter included dinner at White House

TUCSON - Some guys go hunting or fishing in the offseason. Eric Byrnes got married and had dinner with President George W. Bush.

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The Diamondbacks’ version of the straight-talk express, Byrnes was among a group of major league players who shared their thoughts on the state of the game while dining with Bush and his wife at the White House on Jan. 22.

Byrnes, who knows presidents — on a bet, he learned to recite all 43 U.S. presidents — called it “the best experience of my life.”

Never shy, Byrnes did not beat around with the Bushes.

“The Congress is wasting my time and the taxpayers’ money” by continuing with hearings on illegal performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, Byrnes said he told Bush, a former part-owner of the Texas Rangers.

Byrnes characterized the Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee hearings as “a witch hunt,” and said it is time to move on while acknowledging that he, particularly, may have been among those hurt by the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
 

“If anyone was cheated in this, I was one of the guys that was cheated, because I never did steroids. A lot of Oakland names have surfaced,” said Byrnes, who spent the first eight seasons (1998-2005) of his career in the A’s organization.
 

“I’m competing with these guys for jobs, and they are trying to get the edge. If anyone should be upset, and if anyone should say we should continue to make a mockery of this and lead this witch hunt, it could be me.
 

“But you know what? For someone who has never been on steroids, I’m ready to move on as much as anybody. Why? Because I care about the future of our sport. I care about cleaning up the reputation, because we as a sport have cleaned it up.”
 

Twelve players with current or previous ties to Oakland were mentioned in the Mitchell Report, including Jeremy Giambi and Adam Piatt, who were primarily used in the outfield or at DH.
 

Each received more at-bats with the A’s than Byrnes did in 2000, 2001 and 2002, as Byrnes yo-yoed between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento while putting up good numbers in the minor leagues.
 

Byrnes was more sympathetic than accusatory, however.
 

“A lot of the guys who did steroids, whose names have surfaced in the Mitchell report, they are not bad guys,” Byrnes said.
 

“They are a product of the culture of the time. Unfortunately, they got caught up in it. It doesn’t make them bad people. It just means they made a bad decision. Having a lot of friends on that list, and knowing a lot of people, it’s a tough situation.”
 

The guest list for the White House dinner was selected by baseball fan/author and Washington Post syndicated columnist George F. Will and included players Julio Franco, Curtis Granderson, Mike Lowell, Jimmy Rollins and Chris Young. Boston manager Terry Francona also attended.
 

Byrnes’ wife of seven weeks, Tarah, also was at the event, and all invited received a tour of the White House by the Bushes that included a stop in the Oval Office.
 

“That was the highlight of my professional career, being able to sit down with the president and the first lady and Mr. Will,” Byrnes said.
 

“The first book I really read, after ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and ‘The Outsiders,’ was (Will’s) ‘Men at Work,’ ” a book that breaks down the essential tasks of baseball by analyzing how some of the best players in the game go about their business.
 

Byrnes said the major league players association believes it has the most stringent drug testing policy in pro sports, in part because of the Congressional hearings in 2005.
 

So now …
 

“We have a lot bigger issues, say the economy, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, some things going on overseas that we need to continue to address and figure out,” Byrnes said.
 

Byrnes had fun recalling Bush’s retort about Congress, although he did not repeat it.
 

“He didn’t go so far as to say they are wasting time,” Byrnes said. “He had a nice little witty remark to go with it. Everyone got a big chuckle. Everyone knows how our government works. The president and Congress are constantly at odds.
 

“I happen to be a fan of the president, but regardless of how you feel about his politics, he’s a regular guy. To confirm my previous beliefs was a great experience. He’s real.”