Byrnes was considered a player who relied on his speed and hustle. He could hit for power, but tended to be a "free-swinger" and went through hitting droughts. He was ranked in the top-three for best defensive left fielders in John Dewan\'s publication, Fielding Bible. Byrnes was selected to the All-Time great Oakland A\'s 50th Season team in 2018.\n', '

Byrnes\'s high school career was spent in the Western Catholic Athletic League, where he played for St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California. He regularly competed in Baseball and Football against Serra High School\'s Tom Brady, and Bellarmine College Prep\'s Pat Burrell. After graduating in 1994, he was selected in the Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers but elected to go to college at the University of California at Los Angeles.\n', '

At UCLA (1995–98), Byrnes hit second in the batting order and played right field in a lineup that featured future major-league stars Troy Glaus (1995–97) and Garrett Atkins (1998). He was again selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, this time by the Houston Astros after his junior season, but again elected to stay in school. He finished his career at UCLA as one of the most successful hitters in Pac-10 history with a .331 career average and 75 doubles, a conference record. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.\n', '

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