Put PEDs in the past

On Marty Lurie’s radio talk show on KNBR 680, another issue about Barry Bonds came into view, this time whether or not he should be welcomed back in the Giants organization as a coach. There is no doubt if Mr. Bonds wanted a coaching spot schooling up the Giants hitters, he would be overqualified for the job.

Whether or not Bonds wants, or should want, a place in the organization which gave him the pedestal to become one of the greatest players in the history of the game is a completely different issue. But I’m here to tell you if he did, the team in the city by the bay should welcome him back with open arms.

Who knows if Bonds even has the itch to get back in the game he played so stunningly, but the league has seen admitted steroid user Mark McGwire welcomed back as a hitting coach by the St. Louis Cardinals and now he holds the same position for the Los Angeles Dodgers, so there is precedent.

The MLB has also let Alex Rodriguez continue to get at-bats for the New York Yankees after serving a yearlong suspension last season.

McGwire apologized and A-Rod got caught, but any way you slice it, they are back in the game.

However, not everyone believes it is the right thing to do to let Bonds back in the league. Keith Olbermann, an ESPN anchor who is always in the news for his controversial opinions, had this to offer about Bonds becoming a coach according to nbcsports.com.

“You cheated the game. You dishonored the game. The game has been better off with you forgotten, with you in the wilderness, with your statistics as meaningful as video game numbers,” he said. “Barry Bonds is a liar, a cheat, a shame to this sport, and to all sports and to this country.”

These comments came in his show after Bonds was brought on as a hitting consultant of sorts in this year’s Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ. For one, it is just Spring Training. I understand Olbermann has a huge background of baseball knowledge, but he lets his emotions run wild when he does his show, which will always be the reason why I will not completely agree with him.

This is one of the topics in baseball in which I do not agree with Keith Olbermann, who I respect as a great baseball mind and news-person. Everyone deserves a second chance when it comes to the issue of PED’s. It does not necessarily mean the player should ever be in the Hall of Fame, but as far as not letting a PED user be a coach in the MLB, well I think that is just plain childish.

Steroids or not, anyone who knows the game would know that Barry Bonds would make for a great hitting coach. The guy has every record in the books and a baseball family/background you would not even believe. If you played in the big leagues, and your dad is Bobby Bonds and your Godfather is Willie Mays, I think that automatically qualifies you for a spot on an MLB team as a coach, let alone if you are Barry Bonds.

The thing that will always go against Bonds is the media. In all the interviews I’ve ever seen him give, whether it was during his playing career or after, he has not come off as a particularly likeable person to the public eye. You cannot blame the guy, though, after all him and his family have gone through in court trying to clear his name.

As long as Barry stays away from the league, and the San Francisco Giants organization, Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens’s job is safe. But based on Brian Sabean’s history of bringing veterans to his ball club and former Giants players in to coach from time to time, I would say if Bonds wants it, Sabean will think long and hard about bringing him back even if Meulens is doing a good job.