Marlins players seem pretty excited Barry Bonds is their new hitting coach

The Miami Marlins hiring of Barry Bonds will certainly be met with plenty of criticism in the coming days. Bonds’ reputation within the game has never been great, and there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about Bonds and Miami’s ownership.

You won’t hear any of those criticisms from current Marlins players, though. A fair amount of them seem pretty excited to work with one of the best hitters of all time.

[Elsewhere: The Diamondbacks introduced some new uniforms]

Slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who many believe will benefit the most from having Bonds around, called his new hitting coach a “genius” recently.

Now that the move is official, more Marlins players are coming out and supporting Bonds. You might not think pitcher Tom Koehler stands to benefit all that much from the move, but he respectfully disagrees.

With Frank and Barry teachings us how to hit. I should be dropping tanks in no time. #illjustbunt

— Tom Koehler (@TKREFRESH22) December 4, 2015

National League batting champ Dee Gordon hasn’t specifically said anything about Bonds yet, but he’s responded positively to Koehler’s tweet and to a tweet sent by former Marlin Dan Haren. We wish Gordon would say something like “looking forward to hitting 40 home runs next season,” but we’ll take what we can get.

While he’s not a member of the Marlins – yet! – everyone’s favorite New York Yankees player also weighed in on Bonds being hired.

Alex Rodriguez, who worked with Barry Bonds last offseason: “The Marlins are lucky to have him – great talent.”

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) December 4, 2015

If nothing else, that statement from Alex Rodriguez should cause maximum drama among the Bonds detractors.

[Elsewhere: Jordan Zimmermann is in hot water with Tigers fans after his tweet about the Packers]

Fans and media can certainly debate whether it’s worth the attention to have Bonds around, but they can’t debate his success at the plate. Bonds was known as an extremely intelligent hitter, and had one of the most disciplined eyes in the game. He also hit a ridiculous amount of home runs. It’s no wonder the Marlins are looking forward to working with the guy, regardless of all the other stuff.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: