By Ben Leonard
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AP photo: Miami Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds signs for the fans before the Marlins and San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park on Friday night
SAN FRANCISCO — When you think of Barry Bonds’ tenure in San Francisco, “nice” is usually the last thing that comes to mind, just after weak and pleasant. Baseball’s all-time home run king returned to San Francisco for the first time in the dugout after 14 seasons with the Giants as the Marlins’ hitting coach and was all smiles in his press scrum.
Visibily slimmer in his new uniform, basking more good press than he had gotten in his entire life, Bonds said he wished he had been like this “a long time ago.” Speaking for the pack, one reporter quipped, “Done what, be nice?”
Bonds certainly appreciated how much nicer the press was, up until then, and arrived to the ballpark on his Uber ride a somewhat changed man. Sure, nothing will scrub BALCO, the perjury trial, and the ever-looming Hall of Fame debate from his record, but a beaming Bonds enjoyed his time back at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.
The most difficult part for Bonds was adjusting to the visitors’ clubhouse — Bonds had only been in twice, once to see former Giant Matt Williams and once to see Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland — so he was “kind of lost” in the locker room. But weird wasn’t a word Bonds would use to describe his return to The City by the Bay:
“I feel grateful here,” Bonds said. “This is the place where I started my whole entire life. My Little League, this whole town – I don’t really feel weird. I take my job serious and I’m very serious about being a good hitting coach over here for the Miami Marlins.”
Coming back to San Francisco certainly holds some personal significance for Bonds, however. Initially, playing in San Francisco was a “childhood dream” for Bonds: I wanted to be with Willie mays and my dad (Bobby Bonds) in the outfield,” Bonds said. “I had the opportunity and I got to play left field, so I got to play against the ghosts of my idols for my entire life. There’s no better story for me right now here in San Francisco. I don’t really have fans in san francisco — this is my family. This is where I was raised, where I grew up. These are the people that stood behind me through thick and thin, and I will always appreciate that and have my love for San Francisco.”
Bonds has taken over the reigns of a very young but talented Miami lineup, one that features one of the game’s most fearsome sluggers, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. So far, the results haven’t quite come — Miami is just 22nd in runs scored — but Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly has been impressed by his new hitting coach.
“I thought he did a really good job in spring training of not being overbearing, allowing guys to work, and building relationships before coming in here and telling guys what they’re doing,” Mattingly said. “It’s probably an adjustment for Barry — guys can’t do what he can do — you got to take their swing and work it in, and i think he’s done a nice job of that.”
Bonds is optimistic that his offense can turn it around. “They’re young,” Bonds said. “You’re talking 22, 25, 24. I was at that age. I know how difficult it is. I know how you’re searching to find your way and they’re going through that now. But they do have a good offensive team, and if they stay together, I think they have a promising team.”
Earlier in the spring, there were reports that Bonds had won a home run derby of sorts with Stanton and outfielder Christian Yelich, but those were shot down. It was just a 3 x 3 hitting drill, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported. Still, after playing for 22 seasons in the big leagues, the hardest thing at first for Bonds, arguably the greatest hitter of all time, was to sit back and just be a coach.
“It first, in Spring Training, it was the emotions,” Bonds said. “I’m used to being on the field, and being in the dugout biting my lip and was saying, ‘ugh I wish I could do that.’ Then you have to take a step back and realize that your job is different now — you’re not a player and you have to be a coach.”
Another tough adjustment for Bonds was waking up so early to watch hitters’ film — in Spring Training, he had to get up as early as six o’clock in the morning to get to work. Now, when it’s “not as intense as Spring Training,” Bonds feels “good.”
Bonds respects one man who has been on the grind as a major league coach far longer than him — Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy. Bonds only played for Bochy for one season, his last in San Francisco, leaving Bonds wishing that was more.
“I wish I got to play with him a little longer, but I knew him as a manger of other teams,” Bonds said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how good of manager you have when you watch him, how he prepares his guys and what he does, and with situations that come up and how he manages them. We knew when I was in San Francisco that we had a good manager.”
Bonds is expecting a good reception from Giants’ fans in his return to AT&T Park — they mostly backed him throughout the drawn-out chase to pass Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list, and he expects them to continue to do so. “I’m expecting a good reception because this is where I played,” Bonds said. “This is my home. I would hope this city would have great memories.”
The newly courteous Bonds also wanted to show some courtesy to his new employers, and after a discussion with Giants’ brass, including Larry Baer, opted not to hold a ceremony to induct him to the Giants’ Wall of Fame before Friday’s game.
“He wanted to do something when I came back and we sat down and talked about it and I felt that it wasn’t really the right time,” Bonds said. “It’d be kind of weird. My boss is Jeffrey (Loria) now. I want to respect him, I want to respect the Marlins, and we’re here to play the Giants and put on a good performance… I think it’s just more respectful to the Miami fans and Miami people. If the Giants want to do something with me at a later date and in the right uniform, I think that’s more appropriate.”
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