The infamous Barry Bonds, the one-time big-hitting hometown hero who was disgraced by allegations of his use of performance-enhancing drugs and obstruction charges in a case about steroid distribution, is nonetheless still loved by many baseball fans including SFist's own columnist E. Chang. And for them, it will be welcome news that he's coming home this season to serve as "special advisor" to the San Francisco Giants, beginning with some appearances at spring training in Arizona.

The Associated Press reports that the seven-time National League MVP, who spent his last 15 seasons with the Giants, says the team will "always be my family," and he says he's looking forward to "spending time with the team, young players in the system as well as the Bay Area community."

Bonds comes back to the Giants after spending just one season as hitting coach for the Miami Marlins.

As Chang put it well back in 2014:

Baseball has always been a game of cheats and scoundrels — there will always be more Ty Cobbs in the Hall of Fame and folklore than Christy Matthewsons. I, personally, will never call Barry a cheat or a scoundrel (love being blind and all that), but even if he was, he was our cheat and our scoundrel, dammit. He was our native son and we loved him, and we still do.

Previously: An Unapologetic Rant About Why We Still Love Barry Bonds