MLB: Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds Deserve Chances
As the offseason approaches, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds may be considered for MLB manager positions. Merit says they deserve the chance.
Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds will be on MLB team’s short-list after this season for managerial openings and you should be okay with that.
As each generation of stars retire as active players, they want to stay with the game they love and climb the coaching ladder. McGwire is a bench coach with the San Diego Padres. The next step for him will be the bad desk and endless press conference duty.
Bonds joined the Miami Marlins as the hitting coach this year and is enjoying the job. Whether he wants the headaches that come with being a manager today remains to be seen. If he wants to continue in that direction, some team will give him the chance.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Along with Jason Giambi, this generation of coaches and executives have a public blemish on their resume. Each player admitted, or was implicated, using steroids. They (allegedly) cheated and are still paying for it in the court of public opinion. Baseball has moved on, and you should too.
As a player, there were few in his day more likable and respected as McGwire. A student of the game the moment he broke in with the Oakland A’s, it was obvious he had a grasp on what was going on around him. He may have been hired as a hitting coach initially by the St. Louis Cardinals as a favor, but his role with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres came with performance. His presence is not to fill seats, but win ballgames. He may be the front guy as soon as 2017 and, if what you see is correct, will be a good one.
Giambi stayed an active player well beyond his sell-by date because he carried the pulse of the clubhouse. Today’s managers need to be good balancing egos and personal issues as much as they do handling a bullpen. Giambi, never a serious threat for the Hall of Fame, admitted to his usage. Given the opportunity, he could be a tremendous dugout general.
That leads us to Bonds and others who were superstars that fell from grace. There is a reason those who played at the highest of levels do not make good skippers. It is hard to be patient when no one has the same level of talent you played with. Lenny Wilkins and Larry Bird of the NBA are exceptions to that rule. If Bonds or a Roger Clemens wishes to go down that path, how long will it be before they tire of the grind?
As far as the past goes, if teams are okay with McGwire and Bonds being around young players, then that should settle the issue. No one batted an eye when Billy Martin, who battled the bottle as much as the umpires, kept grabbing jobs. If we disqualified anyone who may have used drugs or steroids from managing, you would be left with few qualified candidates.
Next: AL Rookies on the Playoff Charge
Chances are most steroid users were players trying to hang on to their roster spot. We cannot go back and undo those years. Instead, we should embrace players such as McGwire and Giambi who want to pass along the game they love.