“I don’t think we could have signed a better guy to represent this team and this organization than Eric Byrnes. First and foremost, what he does out on the field. He leaves it out there every inning of every game. With the group of young guys coming up, this is the perfect example to have for these guys to learn from.”
— Bob Melvin, August 7 2007.
Byrnes arrived in Arizona in December 2005, at a bit of a low point, having hit only .226 that season, between Oakland, Colorado and Baltimore. He signed a one-year deal for $2.