Join us for the 4th annual Taft College Athletics Triple play dinner and auction.

Taft College winds up for its 4th annual Triple Play Dinner & Auction benefiting the college’s athletics programs. The event will be held at The Historic Fort in Taft on January 27, 2017.

Taft College Athletics is proud to announce that former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and current MLB Network studio analyst, Eric Byrnes will be the headline speaker at the 4th annual Taft College Triple Play Dinner and Auction.

Byrnes is an 11-year major league outfielder playing with the Oakland A’s (2000-05), Colorado Rockies (2005), Baltimore Orioles (2005), Arizona D-backs (2006-09) and the Seattle Mariners (2010). As a member of the Oakland A’s he batted .462 in the 2003 ALDS against the Red Sox. Byrnes was a key member of the 2007 NL West champion Arizona D-backs hitting 21 home runs, scoring 103 runs and stealing 50 bases for the season.

Since his retirement from baseball in 2010, Byrnes has become an avid endurance runner and triathlete. He is the subject of the critically acclaimed Vimeo documentary entitled Diamond to the Rough.  This documentary chronicles his running of the 2016 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run from Squaw Valley, USA to Auburn, CA. In this run there is over 18,000 feet of elevation climb and over 23,000 feet of descent.

The uniqueness of this race is that it has to be completed in under 24 hours. Running conditions include; temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, darkness of night, temperatures dropping below 40 degrees, dirt and rock trails and the crossing of the American River. There will be a special screening of this 40-minute film at the Triple Play Dinner and Byrnes will speak after it is presented.

Byrnes was hired at the MLB Network in 2010 as a studio analyst and is one of the networks most popular personalities. His previous experience in broadcasting includes roles as a studio analyst on ESPN’s Baseball tonight and as a contributor to MLB on FOX, Fox Sports Arizona, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, MLB Home Plate on Sirius/XM, PAC 12 Network and KNBR 680 in San Francisco.

Sponsored tables can be purchased for $500 each and individual tickets to this event are $60. Tickets can be purchased at the Taft College Athletic Office in the Al Baldock Cougar Sports Center or one can call the athletics office at 661-763-7829 or 661-763-7822.