Ryan Ritchey: When you look back at Mark McGwire’s career as a great hitter and now the hitting coach of the World Series Champion Cardinals, you must think of Barry Bonds. The same Barry Bonds who in my opinion was a cheater in the game of baseball by using steroids, but was still a great hitter. Even if you do use steroids, you still have to hit the ball solidly for it to leave the park and that is just what Bonds did. Bonds, the career MLB leader in home runs, was no doubt a great hitter. With that great hitting ability he could help many players in becoming great hitters as well.

The one team you could see him helping is his beloved San Francisco Giants. As anyone who has watched the Giants, you know they are a terrible hitting team. So far this season the Giants are 25th in the majors in runs scored with only 119 runs scored. Bonds could help this team out a whole lot with just mechanics. Learning how to hit the ball and pitch selection is a huge part in hitting. If you have a weak pitch selection, you aren’t going to be a good hitter. In my estimation, Bonds could help out a lot of the young Giants hitters and turn this team into a World Series winner again.

I couldn’t tell you whether Bonds would want to do it or not, but I believe it would be good for him. His chances of getting into the Hall of Fame right now are very slim to none. His chances could go up if he gets back into the game and helps out the next generation. If he does come back into the game and makes a difference he could get into the Hall. People seem to remember what you have done for them lately. A kinder, gentler teaching Barry Bonds could be just that person.

Would Bonds be a disruption or a benefit to the Giants is the question. With McGwire, he has stayed behind the scenes the whole time he has been back in St. Louis, which is making it a better experience for him. McGwire didn’t come out and say he did it “all”, he didn’t say very much. Which in my mind is the only way it should be.  If Bonds stays behind the scenes and just coaches, I believe it is the best thing for the Giants and for Bonds. Bonds could be back in a Giants uniform if he wanted to be. But unfortunately, for his career and the state of the Giants franchise he left behind, I believe that Bonds is going to stay away from the game. Barry could be really good for the Giants and Major League Baseball. Hopefully he will see that soon.

Ryan Ritchey is a Baseball Writer for MLB reports. I am a high school senior, play second base and plan on studying sports journalism in college. I am a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips. Have been a baseball fan my whole life and have been writing about baseball since freshman year. You can reach me on Twitter (@Ryan13Ritchey)

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