NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Dusty Baker had one piece of advice for Barry Bonds as the all-time home run king begins life on a major league coaching staff:
“Spend as much time with the .240 hitter as you do with the .300 hitter,” said Baker, smiling as he double-timed it to his next appointment at the sprawling Opryland Resort.
“But he’ll be great,” Baker added. “Oh yeah, man. Just great.”
Bonds last week signed on to become the Miami Marlins’ primary hitting coach next season, and some who knew him best during his playing career have expressed private surprise that he would be willing to commit to the eight-month grind. Perhaps it’ll be assistant Frank Menechino, not Bonds, flipping soft-toss batting practice to hitters at 1 p.m. before a night game.
But two of Bonds’ former managers agree: he will make a positive and perhaps measurable impact on that young Marlins club.
“I was hoping he'd go to the American League,” said Baker, who was hired in November to manage the Washington Nationals. “This guy can see things that only a couple players that I've played with have seen - Hank Aaron and Reggie Smith. They see things that people -- what's obvious to them is invisible to others.”
Baker said he didn’t consider gauging Bonds’ interest when he was putting his staff together with the Nationals. He’s keeping well-respected batting coach Rick Schu in Washington. He doubted that Bonds’ salary demands, whatever they might be, would fit within the budget that the Nationals gave Baker.
“Plus I had Barry for ten years,” Baker said. “That's enough.”
Baker managed Bonds from 1993, when the Giants gave the perennial All-Star left fielder a record-setting free-agent contract, through the 2002 season that ended with a loss in Game 7 of the World Series at Anaheim. Bruce Bochy’s first season with the Giants in 2007 was Bonds’ last, when the five-time NL MVP passed Hank Aaron for first place on the all-time home run list.
But Bochy managed the San Diego Padres for 12 seasons prior to that. And Bonds hit more homers against the Padres than any other opponent. So familiarity abounds.
“He’s got a lot of knowledge to give,” Bochy said. “You can’t help but become a better hitter by spending time with Barry. He’s got a lot to offer baseball and I think he’s going to do a nice job.”
Bonds was a spring training guest instructor for a week with the Giants in the spring of 2014, and although he and the team could not reach an understanding on an official role this past season, he was a frequent visitor to the clubhouse during times before the media access window. It was also common to see him at the batting cage with Bochy and hitting coach Hensley Meulens.
“He was another set of eyes and ears who would come by and help us out occasionally,” Bochy said. “Barry is one of those guys, when he walks into the room, you know it. He’s got a strong personality and was willing to help. He’d visit with coaches, talk to them. Even though he wasn’t officially on the staff, he was there helping out when he could.”
Bonds didn’t try to horn his way into a job on the major league coaching staff, Bochy said. The Giants led the NL in batting average last season, and between Meulens and Steve Decker, there wasn’t an opening at hitting coach.
“Yeah, and I think (Bonds) understood that and he was great about it,” Bochy said.
Although Bonds and the Giants certainly had contentious discussions about fair financial compensation in an official role, it’s fair to assume that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is making this new gig worth Bonds’ while.
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