Don Mattingly is pretty excited to have Barry Bonds as his hitting coach

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Miami Marlins are going to employ one of the greatest batters of all time as their hitting coach next season. While that news would typically delight any manager, this is Barry Bonds we’re talking about. Though Bonds had a stellar career, his hiring also comes with a fair amount of controversy.

Or, at least, it could under the wrong circumstances. Marlins manager Don Mattingly handled every question about Bonds expertly during his media session at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday.

[Elsewhere: Brett Lawrie can leap buildings in a single bound]

Mattingly made it clear that Bonds was hired because he understood and was willing to put in the work. Oh, and it helps that he’s one of the greatest players ever.

When first asked about having Bonds on his staff, Mattingly said “That’s been interesting. The timing in life is kind of everything, and it feels like the right time for Barry to get back in. He’s really excited about teaching. Everything he talks about is — when I hear him say, I’m just a rookie coach at this point, and this is probably one of the best hitters that’s ever played talking about he’s just a rookie coach and talking about his job is just helping guys.”

Unsurprisingly, there were plenty more questions about Bonds. Mattingly expressed that he believes Bonds will work well with younger players because Bonds grew up with excellent teachers.

“The knowledge is there,” Mattingly said. “You know he understands exactly, probably at a level that maybe not very many may understand, but also a guy that came through a pretty good teaching. His dad was a good teacher. Willie Mays was a pretty good teacher, he’s his Godson. So he’s from a good teaching background. And his attitude of wanting to be good. When Barry Bonds tells me he wants to be good at something, I think he’s going to be good.”

Mattingly also talked about Bonds willingness to put in the time it takes to be a successful coach. It’s not necessarily just about teaching and working with guys. As Mattingly explained, Bonds knows he’ll have to get to games early and toss flips to players in the batting cages. He said Bonds was willing to do all of that and was excited to be a part of the staff.

That was that. There was no mention of Bonds’ history or alleged steroid use or anything like that. In fairness, Mattingly wasn’t asked directly about those things, but he did well to keep the focus on Bonds’ willingness and motivation to be a great coach. 

As of right now, this whole thing seems pretty promising. If Bonds is willing to be a teacher, and can deal with the every day minutia of the job, he should be pretty successful. Bonds was one of the best hitters ever, and should be able to impart at least some of that wisdom on the players.

If that doesn’t work out, it sounded like Mattingly had another idea. “Barry could play, I bet,” he said. “He looks like he could still play.”

[Elsewhere: The Pirates sent Neil Walker to the Mets for Jon Niese]

Mattingly was joking, obviously … but was he? The 51-year-old Bonds is probably still good enough to be the third best hitter on the Marlins. If the team slumps early, there’s a chance we could see Barry Bonds player/coach.

Does that seem ludicrous? This is the same team that made their general manager an on-field manager last season. The Marlins have done crazier things!

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik