Home run king Barry Bonds is hired as Miami Marlins’ hitting coach

Barry Bonds is back in Major League Baseball. The all-time home run king is now the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins, the team announced Friday.

Bonds, of course, has been followed for many years by speculation that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Interestingly enough, so was Marlins Manager Don Mattingly’s last hitting coach, Mark McGwire, for the past three seasons when both men were with the Dodgers.

McGwire admitted in 2010 to using PEDs when he broke the single-season home run record in 1998. Bonds, who broke that record in 2001, has admitted only to unknowingly using steroids.

Soon after he broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in August 2007, Bonds’ playing career came to an end. The San Francisco Giants announced they would not re-sign him at the end of that season, and Bonds was unable to land a job with any other team.

He ended his playing career with 762 home runs.

In November 2007, Bonds was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice for telling a federal grand jury he had not knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. In April of this year, an appellate court overturned the lone conviction for obstruction stemming from those charges.

Bonds has failed to get more than 36.8% of the vote in his three appearances on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Also on Friday, the Marlins announced several other members of Mattingly’s staff, including his former Dodgers bench coach, Tim Wallach, who will fill the same role in Miami.

Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.