Buster Posey excited for Barry Bonds

ByABC News
February 24, 2014, 11:22 AM

— -- Buster Posey says he's excited to talk with Barry Bonds when the home run king visits  San Francisco Giants spring training as a guest instructor.

Posey would like to ask Bonds about his approach at the plate, the catcher told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"I'm excited just to listen, for sure," Posey told the newspaper. "From talking to people that either coached him or played with him, everybody said he had a very straightforward, simple approach. To me, that's a huge part of hitting -- trying to keep things as simple as possible."

Brandon Belt, like Bonds a left-handed power hitter, also said he was looking forward to learning from the controversial slugger.

"It's one of those things where he comes in and you try to pick his brain as much as possible," Belt said. "It seems like he did everything right [at the plate]. When you talk to hitting coaches around here, they point to him as the specimen to follow."

Bonds is expected to arrive during the second week of March. He'll join former Giants Jeff Kent, Robb Nen, Will Clark and J.T. Snow as special instructors.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday that he's looking forward to having the 49-year-old Bonds in camp and thinks he can help the hitters.

Bonds spent his last 15 seasons with the Giants, finishing in 2007. He has not been elected to the Hall of Fame, with many voters saying his lofty numbers were boosted by performance-enhancing drugs. His final contract with the Giants included a 10-year services deal following his retirement, which included spring training visits.

He set major league records with 762 career home runs and 73 in the 2001 season. He also had a .444 career on-base percentage and a .607 slugging percentage, and stole 514 bases.