Remember Barry Bonds?
He never officially retired from baseball. His last playing season was 2007, after which the Giants declined to re-sign him. His agent kept saying he was available, but teams viewed him as you might view toxic waste. His age and his legal woes had ended his career.
Now, Bonds says he'd like to help current players. Paul Gutierrez:
Perhaps most intriguing, though, is Bonds' revelation that he has talked with Giants President and CEO Larry Baer about re-joining the club, perhaps as a roving instructor, of some sort, "helping major leaguers (and) minor leaguers" in the Giants' organization.
"My expertise is baseball," he said.
"If you believe that I can contribute and help the organization, then fine. If you don't, fine. I'm just saying it's out there."
During his playing career, Bonds had a reputation -- deserved or not -- of being self-centered. It doesn't seem as if his personality would lend itself to being an instructor to current players, but you never know. Maybe he's changed.
The Gutierrez article also points out that Bonds will be on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this coming winter. That ought to be interesting.
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