Eric Byrnes, ex-Oakland Athletic and most recently, an Arizona Diamondback and Seattle Mariner, has been hired as KNBR's 7-10 PM talk host, according to a station source.
An official announcement is due sometime soon. He begins his chores March 23. It is presumed that Brynes will do most pre and post-game Giants shows.
Byrnes has been doing various broadcast assignments from MLB Network to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. His style should work well within the post-game format that both the Giants and KNBR expect.
His baseball career was cut short early by a rash of injuries, but he did cash in on a 3-year, $30M contract.
Byrnes lives in Half Moon Bay.
UPDATE: 4: 01 PDT: KNBR has now officially announced the Byrnes hire on its website.
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Lee Hammer has been dreaming about this moment for the last 3 years! I bet he sends out an all staff email saying there's 2 large Amici's pies in route for the whole staff to enjoy in honor of the Byrnes hire.
ReplyDeleteAnother Frat Boy ex-gamer womanizing boozer, stoner, and surfer... Woo Hoo.
ReplyDeleteThanks for head's up. Another time slot I can add to my "avoid KNBR" schedule
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I love the Giants and I bleed Orange and Black.. But KNBR is all baseball all the time especially with Murph/Mac and now with Byrnsee!! Best time to catch KNBR is with Razor and MrT. That's IT!!
ReplyDeleteAll are listenable except for Murph & Mac.
ReplyDeletezzzzzzz....
ReplyDeleteByrnes is so arrogant I can't stand him. He starts EVERY sentence with "I" and re-directs EVERY point and conversation to himself. And that slacker surf boy stuff is just not entertaining. I've dreaded this news for a long time.
ReplyDeleteEven though it will never happen, bring back Larry Krueger.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Eric Byrnes as a player because of his total gamer attitude. I enjoyed his stints on the radio and will look forward to him on regularly. I was not a fan of FP "Dead Air Space" Santangelo at all. Byrnes is a major upgrade!
ReplyDeleteOh.
ReplyDeletezzzz. and zzzz
ReplyDeleteI hope this is only a 680 thing and not for 1050. Tony Bruno >>>>>> Eric Byrnes
ReplyDeleteIf it is not Damon Bruce, it is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI will never listen to the "I think I'm David Lee Roth" idiot. And idiot he is-without a doubt he is the stupidest of the talking heads.
ReplyDeleteIt's also more to that 30 mill story,that he ripped off two teams to get-a real KNBR kind of guy,no morals and anything for money.
The station is now a complete walking joke with him and Fitz and Radnich. At least Radnich though,trys to be funny-the others are unintentional.
The producers will do doing heavy screening with Roth,uh,I mean Byrnes, as fans catch on to another KNBR -in-his-own-neocon-world jock.
I agree with a few of the comments here. I really don't enjoy Byrnes on the radio. In fact, I tend to turn off KNBR when I hear Byrnes. I love KNBR. I've listened for years. Morning to night. I personally wouldn't mind if they got rid of Murph and Mac...I'm a Radnich fan....Rod is ok but Fitz is annoying (I probably dislike Bob Fitzgerald more than anyone at the station)...I like Barbieri but my day wouldn't be ruined if Tolbert was dropped. It would never happen but they should bring Damon over for the noontime hour and make it the Bruce and Brooks show.
ReplyDeleteCan you say Jock-racy? (ala Howard Cosell)
ReplyDeleteMark, WC
Here is a "what will you give me."
ReplyDeleteBrian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey: Murph and Mac sound almost identical, have the same speech patterns, talk at the same speed, and what they say is interchangeable. It's hard to tell when one stops talking and the other one starts.
I think it is just one person!
Please get rid of that huge blowhard Barbieri, not nice on air, and surely a real jerk off air.
ReplyDeleteMurph and Mac are great, at least for my age category (31). Byrnes is a little self centered but he's just getting warmed up. Radnich takes so f'n long to make a simple point that I want to tear my hair out, notwitstanding the fact that he is very knowledgeable. Razor and Mr-T interviews, the best. But when its just them, they slack off. Fitz and Brooks flat out suck, Rod thinks he is too cool for school and fitz is knowledgeable, but gets put down by rod too much and therefore, respect is lost for him...
ReplyDeleteThis is great news. Thank the good Lord F.P. was shipped off to D.C., he was an arrogant little man who whined and moaned his way into the radio business. Eric has already made his millions and will be a welcome addition. He will speak his mind because what's the worst that could happen? Get fired? He gets fired, he has 30 million waiting for him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm 33 and I love Ralph and Tolbert. Murph and Mac are probably 3rd behind Damon Bruce around noon. Can't stand Fitz and Brooks. Rad is okay I guess ... when he's into it or cares, he's awesome. Otherwise so-so. Byrnes ... I'll see how it goes for a few days.
ReplyDeleteJust awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd dont worry about calling him an idiot- Dude,it's not like he reads and stuff!
ReplyDeleteOn paper, this looks a lot like the FP hire of last year.
ReplyDeleteGiants-friendly.
Larry Baer-safe.
Insight from a guy who played the game.
Liked by most of the Bay Area.
But, for me, Byrnes worked best in tandem with FP. We shall see if he can carry things solo without a co-host. I'll give him a shot but I really liked FP and Marty Lurie. Those post game marathons were great for getting into the playoffs and no one was obligated to listen to all 6 hours.
I didn't expect FP to be there that long and I get the same vibe from Byrnes. Maybe through baseball season but those ex-athletes are all too competitive to stick around to the nightly radio grind. If a TV gig opens up, he'll be looking to move up.
And get use to FP. I'm sure he'll be back on TV in the Bay Area when Kruk and Kuip retire.
More confirmation that the sports "leader" caters to the young, idiot demographic who tend to wear their baseball cap backwards and their jeans below their skinny ass....
ReplyDeleteThis guy is such a hack I will NEVER be listening to this time slot again. Irritating, boring and self-absorbed.
ReplyDeleteSo they've hired a Rome clone wannabe! C**p!! Now we have chipmunks on speed Murph and Mac in the morning and Eric's monotone Jim Rome immitation at night.
ReplyDeleteIf Fitz would wipe away the Warrior management c**p off his nose and quit hijacking a reasonable callers opinion and avoid answering it,KNBR would be better. Fitz, bullys callers and demands they answer his question over and over until they do and then he cuts them off without a response. Yet, he will say "whats your point"? When the caller presses him, he starts talking down to callers and puts on the I know more than you professor personna. When cornered and exposed he changes topic and avoids answering his brown nosing, everything is great with the Warriors propaganda. Only till after the season when a player is released or traded will he then state the same criticism that he defended against callers during the past season. He is a smart, cocky, egomaniac! He is funny, yet an arrogant a**ho*e!
Considers himself wacky and zany, but is rarely entertaining. I won't ever listen. Bad hire.
ReplyDeleteWe all knew this day was coming. I find the bulk of sports talk radio pretty brainless, so Byrnes should fit right in, but his energy will take him far.
ReplyDeleteThe only tolerable host is Tolbert; the rest are an embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteThank God they didn't hire Christine Craft for the gig.
ReplyDeleteI hope it's not a long term contract.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy listening to Byrnes. Please KNBR get rid of Murph and Mac, Rod and bob while you're at it too.
ReplyDeleteEric Byrnes talks with BOTH Larry Baer's and Lee Hammer's coc* in his mouth. That's the truth.
ReplyDeleteI like Marty Lurie. I'd hope KNBR would give him more time to talk baseball. He's a gem.
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction (E. Byrne's getting hired)...
ReplyDeleteWhy? LOL
I mean, we have plenty of young broadcasting talent in the bay area, who have never had a real chance, and now KNBR hires this flaky dude who made millions as a baseball player. Come on...I suppose after Barry Zito finally gets released or traded away, he'll retire and the A's will hire him for play by play, because he really needs the money.
I think P-Con should get his own show!
ReplyDeleteIt's been downhill since they fired... Dave Newhouse! Barbieri started the avalanche. Radnich COULD be good... he just isn't. Welcome to the club, Byrnsee.
ReplyDeleteRadnich's act has been tiresome for years, decades even. Spends too much time talking about salaries. I like Marty Lurie because he is so smart about baseball. I think he rates up with Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan for his knowledge of the game. Not sure if he knows about football. I Don't care for basketball and hockey. Barbieri and Tolbert are a comedy act, but I like them, especially when Steve Young is doing his weekly thing,although Barbieri sometimes sounds like he was in Goodfellas,
ReplyDeleteand hates the Raiders,
and Tolbert,though very knowledgable, works his laid back stoner repertoire in sometimes.
Anything beats NPR or KGO.
ReplyDeleteI thought this hack used up his 15 minutes a long time ago
ReplyDeleteBarbieri is the biggest no-talent in radio anywhere in this country. How he manages to keep his job when so many other deserving people are out of work amazes me.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Byrnes on MLB Network. He ought to be fun to listen to on KNBR.
But KNBR, please. Get rid of Barbieri (and his Amici commercials).
God...what an undewhelming choice... about as exciting as when Singletary hired Jimmy Raye.How about the best of Damon Bruce until they can actually conduct a proper talent search... dated content... but at least you'd have a professional broadcaster.
ReplyDeleteDo they HAVE to hire another ex-jock after FP left the station? Byrnes is just kind of flaky. Neither FP or EB seems to know that much about sports besides baseball. There have to be other people out there who aren't athletes who would be better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous. 'The Razor' is horrible. He has nothing to offer from a sports perspective, or anything else for that matter. Let's get Tom a new sidekick as the next order of business.
ReplyDeletethanks for not posting my comment, lol...
ReplyDeleteIn the type of industry dominated by dumb, white guys, they hired...oh yeah, another dumb white guy, lol. There was a time when you tuned into to KNBR, it was entertaining, before the age of hi-tech and computers, and now we have dumbed down morons like Eric Byrnes...then again, he's got more money than I do, so maybe being dumb has its virtues, lol.
Hopefully Byrnes will up the IQ ante a bit from FP Santangaroid, a classless and unintelligent buffoon. Though, it's debatable, as those two together killed listener braincells like a frat party when they were paired together as backup talksters. Really, this is not a surprise. KNBR, a small part owner of the Giants, will not hire anybody for Sportsphone and post-game talk without passing the Larry Baer *ss kissing test. Baer has to be assured of no heartburn from post-game player or front office criticism on 50,000 watts. Baer got Damon Bruce shifted to the wilds of 1050 because of his criticism, and Larry Krueger tossed because of his constant criticisms, with the cover story being Felipe having a hissy about Krueger's alleged devilish, racist comments. On the analogies scale, KNBR : Giants = Fox News : GOP
ReplyDeleteWow, look at the number of responses to this thread! Nuclear melt downs, new oil wars in the middle east, even sexy weather girls don't come close! KGO ought to fire all all the political pontificators and switch to snarky jock talk.
ReplyDeleteLee Hammer is too busy having Adam Meyers dickies in his mouth to care who annoys the audience at night. Meyer pays large sums of money to KNBR so he can neuter the hosts progandizing his horribe betting service. Fitz will soft shoe his horrible losing week and pass out the kool aid when he goes over 50% on any given week. Meyer started appearing early mornings as well last football season and basketall seasons. Even Gary and Tony Bruuno make fun of him in couuching their disgust foor Lee Hammer bending over and taking it up the hershey highway. Lee, How does it feel when bathing at night and having to wash away Adam's seeds of love for r.evenue and bottom line sake? Lee Hammer says YES! YES OH YES!! YESS!! OH YES!!! Thank you Adam and smokes a cigarette and turn to Adam with a satisfied and pleased expression. Adam Meyer is a fraud and major con artist prick. His f you money is made off of subscribers who pay for his horrible service.
ReplyDeleteI am not in the demographics...58yr old woman but have been listening to KNBR for 15 years...I like everyone except FP and glad he's gone. Murph and Mac crack me up, Gary R gets a bit annoying at times, love Fitz and Brooks humor and agree with Razor on most things...Mr T is fun but talks about basketball too much. Do NOT like Byrnes however..wish Larry K would come back.
ReplyDeleteMost of the negative comments above echo my thoughts. I won't be listening. Ray Woodson gets screwed yet again, although he's by far the most knowledgeable and well rounded personality on KNBR. It's more obvious than ever to me, a woman, that KNBR doesn't want me as a listener.
ReplyDelete@ 8:37am above hit the nail on the head. I believe Ray Woodson in the 7pm to 10pm slot would've been great. He's informative, engaging and he enjoys the art of conversation with callers. I definitely would've listened to him on that time slot. Picking between Byrnes and Burns will be easy. Put me down on the side of Gene as soon as he returns....
ReplyDeleteRaddy loves Byrnes. Even though Radnich will say on 50,000 watts both Zito and Rowand(and Beidrens) are stealing money-he in one interview almost teared up and told Byrnes,with dramatic handshake and eye to eye stare "You earned every penny of that 30 million"...! I think Arizona and Seattle's teams would not agree as Byrnesy sits on his ass doing nothing for that money.
ReplyDeleteI can't tolerate anything on KNBR or KNBR "Duece". Rick Tittle on on 860 am at 10am is the only thing worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait until his money runs out and he's forced to work on a crab boat in Alaska!.ahh, the Karma of that.
ReplyDeleteA little off topic, but when I was a kid I used to get up early Sunday morning to watch a 1 hour Notre Dame football highlight show that was a recap of Saturday's game voiced by Lindsey Nelson. It was the glory days of ND football, the last seasons of Ara, followed by Dan Devine. I loved Notre Dame and would daydream about that team all the time. I remember being so excited when the niners drafted Ken McAfee in the first round.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to last night where I was screaming at the TV last night, so happy that ND got bounced by Florida State. 10 years of listening to that pompus a$$ Fitz has burned any love out of me for ND.
I know I need to get a life but could it just not have that little jacka$$ in it?
Rich and others: I was informed that Hammer thought Woodson was too boring but OMG I tune in on Byrnes first show last night and other than the fact that KNBR allowed Byrnes to interview Larry Kruegar it was a train wreck.
ReplyDeleteDo we REALLY need rejoin songs that only tell us what kind of music he likes?
Byrnes is doing the show three weeks out of the month.
His dad just died and so Hammer postponed the announcement until the beginning of this week when Tolbert and you know who interviewed him via their show.
The PERSON who said Tolbert is the ONLY person (real person) worth listening to is spot on. Whenever Tom leaves even a half an hour early Ralph can NOT carry the show unless he is interviewing Dan Bullomini whereby he YELLS his own view points back at Dan.
Byrnes had two rejoins where the play by play buy said: "And that's Eric's second HR of the game"... God do we really need that. For those of you that grew tired of FP, okay, let me go on record and say I see your points but compared to Byrnes - FP was a star.
Byrnes elongates every simple english word especially last night where he was searching for automatic brain power. FP had his moments but his self depracating on air ways were at least tolerable. Byrnes and his whorish hair on live TV in years past remind me of Steve Youngs first appearances in public anywhere but that's obviously where that comparison stops as Steve always was and is articulate and Byrnes is always flaming out with his DutchGoose and "I gave it everything I had for Seattle"...just ask Dan Wakumatsu who due to players like Byrnes and Milton Bradley got Dan fired.
Lee HAMMER...what are/were you thinking??????
Mac and Murph = worst sports show of all time. Baseball every day all year the ENTIRE SHOW!?!?!?!?! I like the Giants but Come the hell on!!!!! How many times do we need to hear Kruk and Dwayne Kaiper worship? It's annoying. Get them off the air already. Their show is HORRIBLE
ReplyDeleteThank you California for taking him back.
ReplyDelete~ Arizona
To be honest, Tom Tolbert and Larry Krueger are the only talk show hosts worth a damn over the last 10 years on KNBR. Byrnes is simply the worst host I've ever heard on KNBR. In these hard times, this is the best they could find? Sad really...
ReplyDeleteByrnes loooong draaaawn out voice is so annoying. I will switch stations everytime I hear him. Terrible hire. Since we are on the topic- Brooks and Barbari suck as well.
ReplyDeleteEric Byrnes = complete, f#cking moron. Otherwise Jeff Spicoli's (bigger) idiot son.
ReplyDeleteEric Byrnes is the bas#*rd love child of Jim Rome & Rush Limbaugh. He is obnoxious, annoying, unintelligent and offensive. He should be fired immediately but of course that means he will be a hit with the average sports fan.
ReplyDelete