Barry Bonds Belongs in MLB

        

Photo Credit: http://media.philly.com/images/020413-bonds-barry-600.jpg

          Yesterday, December 3rd, the Miami Marlins formally introduced Barry Bonds as its new hitting coach. Yes, that would be the Barry Bonds that was convicted of obstruction of justice, that has dealt with rumors of steroid use for years, and who is the all-time MLB home run king.
          With the aforementioned descriptors, it seems a decent portion of MLB fans are opposed to Bonds' hiring. How could someone that "cheated" be allowed to work with young players? Would everyone in the clubhouse all of a sudden start juicing?
          I find it hard to believe that could be the case, and not just because such a high level of efficiency to get all the players juicing would be utterly beyond Miami's hapless management.
          However, I'll admit at first even I was skeptical. I have largely been a Bonds detractor in my relatively short life; I just don't like cheating. Sure, there isn't a whole lot of hard evidence that Bonds knowingly took steroids in his playing career, and I do stick to the "eye-ball test." However, the test tells me Bonds doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame along with McGwire, Ramirez, and some others. But that's not really what I'm here to argue. In fact, for this post, I'll argue in favor of Bonds for the hitting coach position.
          Why would I argue in favor of a player I've routinely rooted against, both in play and legally? Bonds is not the first potentially former steroid user to move into a coaching role, and he could help.
          Back in 2010, Mark McGwire became hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. He also admitted to using steroids that year. In fact, this is part of what separates McGwire and Bonds; McGwire has owned up to his past. I should note that there is a possibility Bonds did not take steroids, and of course individuals are innocent until proven guilty (except for in the court of public opinion, as I discussed in a past blog). But what makes these two similar, aside from the steroid connection? They were incredible hitters, especially with the mental side of hitting.
          You can have all the power in the world, but if you can't see the ball and know how to react, it won't do you any good. Pedro Alvarez is learning that the hard way right now. Even aside from the power, McGwire and Bonds were exceptional at the mental side of hitting. Let's ignore doubles and home runs here for a second, as they speak to a lot of the power side. McGwire had a career OBP of .394 and a walk/strikeout rate of 0.83. Those are great numbers, and you don't attain those without fundamental abilities to put the ball in play. Sure, intentional walks factor in there, and hitting the ball hard helps with OBP, but the numbers speak beyond power. As for Bonds? I'll speak just to the .444 OBP, because his ratio had a whole lot of intentional walks built in. That's an insane number, one of the tops all time, and speaks to his understanding of what pitchers would try to get him out.
          Bonds has been working with hitters for the last few years as an instructor at San Fransisco Giants spring training, and the results have been pretty solid. Players talked positively about him, as did coaching staffs. If an admitted steroid user like McGwire can get a chance to teach young players the mental side of baseball, why shouldn't Bonds? Because of his potential to teach younger players and really help them improve, Barry Bonds belongs in MLB.

          Do you have any questions or comments regarding this post? Want to disagree or agree with me? Want to call me an idiot? Go ahead and leave a comment below, and I'll be happy to chat with you. Thanks for reading, and have a great day.