SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ So much of Barry Bonds' career was about distance. How far his home runs traveled. How much of it he kept from teammates.
When his career with the Giants ended, he needed to get further away.
So he hopped on a bike and blurred a few million of those broken yellow lines. He crossed the country and took a hitting coach job with the Miami Marlins, wearing a uniform that never looked quite right.
And now, 10 years after he nudged past Hank Aaron and then found himself nudged out by Giants ownership, Bonds is circling back around. He put on a familiar uniform and flashed a familiar smile Wednesday _ his first morning in his new role as special advisor to CEO Larry Baer.
A decade went by. It was time to reconcile.
"I'm in a different capacity than before," Bonds said with a laugh. "When I was playing, it was whatever role I wanted. Now it's whatever they ask me to do, which I kind of like better."
Bonds will meet season-ticket holders, attend events like the Play Ball Luncheon, make appearances and serve in an ambassadorial roles much as Willie Mays and Willie McCovey have done the past few decades. He'll also help out in uniform as needed, and is spending the last week of camp here as a special instructor. He'll go to the minor league side and mentor prospects.
More important than his actual duties, though, is the symbolism behind a formal reestablishment of ties between the seven-time NL MVP and the franchise that he helped to revitalize. The way is clear for things like the statue and retiring his No.25. One of the game's greatest players will become a celebrated part of Giants history again, and not a specter made transparent because of the game's steroid era.
Bonds met with reporters for 15 minutes Wednesday morning and was in an upbeat mood. He said the time was right to reunite with the Giants, and he would have been unfulfilled if it never happened. He said he wished his father, Bobby, could see him now. Most telling, he said he owed it to his father to try being a major league hitting coach, and although it didn't work out with the Marlins, he was grateful to have had that opportunity.
What he didn't say: being a hitting coach is a more grueling job than ever. Maybe one year of it was enough.
Maybe it's better to be able to roam. Easier to keep your distance that way.
Q: Why is the timing right now for you to formalize this relationship with the Giants?
A: It's my home, I want to be back at home. I want to help our community, our team, San Francisco, the Giants, you know, the younger guys, the younger players, to keep the tradition alive. Same thing my godfather's done, same thing my father's done, Mac's done. It's the right thing to do. I'm San Francisco. Raised there, and I want to help our community kids become Giants, and good ones, and keep these traditions alive.
Q: What part of this role most excites you?
A: I'm in a different capacity than before. When I was playing, it was whatever role I wanted. Now it's whatever they ask me to do, which I kind of like better. (laughs) But I'm here to help the coaching staff, Bam Bam, whatever they need. The minor league guys, I'll probably enjoy.
Q: Your father was the Giants' hitting coach, and you certainly knew what the job entailed. But baseball also has changed so much in the 10 years since you retired. In what ways did last year's experience as the hitting coach in Miami differ from your expectations?
A: I don't think the game has changed. Strike one is strike one. One, two, three outs. Being on both sides, I just understood what it was like. Coaching was really fun. I really appreciated those guys down there. People just have to understand these are well machined engines. Our job is just to get the engine running again. There are 1,200 of them who are the best of the best in the world. You're not really teaching them too, too much. You're trying to fine tune what they already have in their ability. Being on both sides of the fence, I really got the opportunity to see what that was like and I enjoyed it. I enjoy teaching. ... It was really gratifying and it's something I really enjoy doing.
Q: You'll be honored at Arizona State on Tuesday. What are your thoughts about returning to your roots?
A: All I wanted to do was be a Giant. All I ever wanted to do was make my godfather and my dad proud of me. I wish my dad was here right now to see this. There's a lot of things emotionally I wish were still there. It's, 'Hey dad, I did what you said. I got there. I'm doing the same thing you did _ the same things we talked about.' There are a lot of emotions inside that make me feel really, really good right now.
Q: How would you feel about the Giants moving ahead with things like the Wall of Fame, and possibly retiring your number?
A: I feel great about it. Who wouldn't? San Francisco community is my family. I ride my bike there every day. I see them on the roads. Everyone is awesome to me and my family. The timing is just right. Sometimes you need to get away from the game as a player and regroup. You need time to mature yourself and realize what's best for you. I've been away for quite some time and had the opportunity to coach for the Marlins, and I really feel this is what I'm supposed to be doing.
Q: You've gained votes in each of the last two Hall of Fame election cycles and just received a majority for the first time. Do you have hopes for eventual election?
A: I don't answer that question anymore because I really don't know how to answer it. I've made the statement on how I feel about it and I just stand behind the decision I made at the time. To keep talking about it really doesn't do anyone any good.
Q: Hard to believe this year marks the 10th anniversary of breaking Hank Aaron's home run record? Does it seem so long ago?
A: I feel like I could still play for, like, about an hour. My time in baseball has come and gone and my time now is to help others. I thought I had a great career, I had a lot of fun, there were a lot of great memories and at one time I'll be able to tell it all. But that's in the past. Now I see things differently. I want to help out. This is their house now. I had my time in there. I have to move out like everyone else does, and I'm OK with that.
Every time I think about my career, I think, 'This was really fun. I had a great time. It was exciting. I love it in the city of San Francisco.' Everybody says, 'Hey Barry, I miss you, it was great,' You know, you can't ask for more than that. What else more can you ask for? Now it's time for us to bring along this generation so they can have the same feeling we had throughout our career. That's pretty much what I want to do, is see the Poseys and Paniks and Pences and them, and they get to retire like I do and ride their bike or scooters or whatever they want to do and have the whole city of San Francisco say, 'Hey, it was great watching you throughout your career.' I mean, that's what they play for. I hope they'll keep that tradition alive and help the generations long after I can do it.
Q: Would you have felt incomplete or unfulfilled if you hadn't reunited with the Giants?
A: I probably would have been a little bit hurt, sure, anybody would've been. But my feeling is with the community of San Francisco. I mean, I went to elementary school here. As long as I have San Francisco people, the Giants go hand in hand. As long as I get to have the city of San Francisco behind me, then they both go hand in hand.
Q: Did you think about cycling competitively?
A: No, never. I will never compete ever again in my lifetime. I did that for 22 years. I will compete for myself to stay in good shape and healthy, but only for myself. I will never compete again in another sport. That's draining. Never.
Q: After the experience in Miami, are you no longer interested in being a full-time hitting coach?
A: I like this role better. I like to be able to roam. I want to be able to help out the whole organization. I want to help the younger guys coming up in the organization. I like this better to stand with the coaches. I'm here for whatever Bam Bam wants me to do. I'm not here to stand in front of him. If he thinks there's a player I could talk to or whatever, then I go based on that.
Q: Did you need that year in Miami to come to that conclusion?
A: That's why I took the job. I did the thing I thought my father wanted me to do. I thought my dad would tell me, 'If you want to do this, then you go in the dungeon with everyone else and you do it that way.' And that's why I took that job. And I'm very grateful for Jeffrey (Loria). I will always thank that man for allowing me to have that opportunity and to go through that process, because I really understand it now. Like I said when I was there, it was a learning curve. I was a rookie at it. It was going to take more time. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to be able to do that, but I get it now, really clearly. I know the little things that need to be done. I know where I could have been better or what I could've done better. But I'm glad I'm at home doing it. I know all the ups and downs to it. Now I'm glad I'm able to do it at home.
Q: There is so much more advanced data available now, more detailed reports, so much more video. What do you think you would have done with all that stuff if you had it when you played?
A: Nothing. I wouldn't do anything with it. Because on the field, you have no video. That pitcher isn't mechanical out there. He's not a machine. He's not a video. It's real. You better use this and this (points to head and eyes). Because eventually, that's all you have when you step out there. That helps a bit if you're using it in the right way. I'm glad the information is there, I wish, yeah, that I had that information. But I don't really think it would make me a better player. I think the player is who he is. He needs to understand what's happening on the field as well as the information he was giving.
Q: So you wouldn't be able to tell us what your career weighted OBA+ is?
A: I wouldn't even know what OBA+ means. Remember, I can't read and I didn't really get good grades in school so that wouldn't work for me. I am monkey see, monkey do. If you show me, and I can see it, then I can do it better than you. That's it. Except cycling. I'm trying guys, but my weight is in the way. I'm trying it.
Q: No home run derbies for you this spring, like last year in Miami?
A: No I did that already, and they got humbled quick. I only tell you what I can do. But if you challenge me, you will lose.
