You could build a pretty convincing case for Barry Bonds being among the top two or three hitters in Major League Baseball history. Some of the numbers on his Baseball Reference page look like they were produced in a video game, not against real pitchers.
There is proof that at least a decent portion of those statistics were aided by performance enhancing drugs, but the talent and ability has always been evident. It’s because of that the San Francisco Giants have extended an invitation to Bonds to be an instructor at the team’s spring training this year.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, manager Bruce Bochy had this to say on Bonds’ role.
“I know he’s had some things on his plate. Now it looks like he’s got some time on his hands. He has a passion for hitting and a strong intention to get back in the game and help out hitters. He’s going to be part of the great Giants who come in here and help out, the Hall of Famers, J.T. Snow, Will Clark, everyone. Barry is part of that group.
“To have his knowledge, and have a guy who’s one of the great hitters of all time talking to hitters, it’s going to be beneficial to everyone. Barry had talent, sure. But he was a very smart hitter. To hear what he has to say about hitting gives us another set of eyes and a brain to help out.”
Looking at it from a strictly a baseball standpoint, having a Hall of Fame caliber player and one of the greatest the sport has ever seen around to provide pointers and advice can only be seen as a good thing. Of course, outside of that there is the potential for the media circus Bochy later mentioned in his comments. It appears the team has decided the positives outweigh the negatives in this instance.
