Barry Bonds' lone season as Marlins' hitting coach was exactly as expected

Barry Bonds was the Miami Marlins' hitting coach for just one season, but it went exactly as you might have expected

In any pro sport, it’s an exception when a great player also becomes regarded as a great coach. Many that fit the label of an all-time great don’t even get into coaching when they’re done playing, beyond youth camps, coaching their own kids, etc. Many find success in broadcasting, business, etc.

Regardless of where you sit on the topic of steroid use-alleged or confirmed by admission-Barry Bonds is an all-time great baseball player. Notoriously hard to deal with, a move into coaching was certainly never expected.

Bond spent the 2016 season as the Miami Marlins hitting coach. Former team president David Samson recently appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, and was not complementary of Bonds’ work.

He had fun as a hitting coach because he would hang out with [Giancarlo] Stanton and give Stanton some pointers. But he was ineffective, completely," Samson said. "He would sleep in the clubhouse. He would not pay attention during games. He did not work hard. It was a complete disaster."

Bonds apparently refused to accept less than $1.5 million in pay, and his salary was paid off the books to his holding company to keep it hidden from other Marlins’ employees. Owner Jeffrey Loria overruled Samson on hiring Bonds, and in true Bonds fashion he acted like it during the interview.

It was the worst interview I’ve ever been a part of,” said Samson. “Bonds was an absolute pain in the ass about pay because he knew he had the job.”

Other details of what Samson said about Bonds can be found here, via SI. Samson recounted when second baseman Dee Gordon addressed the team after getting an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use.

Barry Bonds, in the middle of the clubhouse, he's standing toward the backdoor, he screams, 'This is crap!' and he walks out," Samson said on Le Batard's show. "I look at [general manager] Mike Hill and I say, 'Are you kidding me?' Like Barry Bonds just stormed out as though he can't believe one of the players did steroids? Is that really possible?"

Since he only lasted one season, Don Mattingly’s first season as the manager as it were, something clearly didn’t work with Bonds and the Marlins. Now there has been some light shed on the specifics, and none of it is surprising.