Barry Bonds is arguably the best hitter of all time in the history of major league baseball. Even long before the days of Balco and HGH and the steroid era as a whole, Barry was a great hitter and well on his way to a hall of fame career. Also long before now Barry didn’t have a great relationship with media, teammates or even friends documented by many. It seemed either Bonds was largely misunderstood or he was understood for exactly who he was. A person who was incredible at baseball and not too good at being a “people person.”
So news a couple of days ago that Barry Bonds will now be a hitting coach for the Miami Marlins comes as a shocker but it shouldn’t. Why wouldn’t a team who struggled to hit the ball reach out to one of the best hitters ever for guidance. Surely anything he can offer to the young players and veterans would beneficial. I mean speaking from a mechanics standpoint Bonds was unmatched. The issue isn’t if Bonds is qualified to give instruction on something he did better than anybody or if he has the knowledge.
The question is does he have the patience or personality rather, to coach? Its interesting to think about whether a former superstar can develop a relationship to teach. Most stars figure out how to coexist with media and at Bonds peak nobody was worse at it. Even further than that can he give advice on things that came naturally to him? Could you imagine Michael Jordan explaining to a young basketball player how to be clutch? It remains to be seen if Bonds can translate his greatness on the field into instruction to others something he struggled with off the field.
