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70 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP B aseball'sall-timehome run leader — however he accomplished it — is back in t he g ame w ith Barr y B onds ' hiring as the Miami Marlins hitting coach. There's no question Bonds has a wealth of knowledge on the art of hitting that no connection to steroids can take away. But the interesting side will be watching Bond s sha re t ha t k now le dg e a nd put in the hours of grunt work required to be an effective hitting coach. One thing Bonds shouldn't expect is for this new job to have much of an effect on his Hall of Fame chances. It didn't work for Mark McGwire, who is now off the ballot after 10 years of failing to generate anywhere close to enough votes. Bonds has made some Hall of Fame progress, rising to 44.3per - cent of the vote last year (he needs 75percent). But this job serves as his indoctrination back into the game, not Cooperstown. Bonds had spring training roles with the Giants, but he wanted a full-time gig he wasn't going to get in San Francisco. Now he will have to put in the work. Theartoftanking The Astros were lambasted for several years of attempting to lose, which netted them three straight No. 1 overall picks. They got the last laugh in 2015, when they meshed a year ahead of time to capture an American League wild-card spot. It worked so well for Houston that plenty of others are giving it a try. Nowhere is that strategy more popular than the National League, where one could rea - sonably argue that six teams — 40percent of the league — are in total rebuild mode. That includes two per division (Colorado and San Diego in the West, Milwaukee and Cincinnati in the Central and Baseball'sbigstorylines THE LEAGUE Philadelphia and Atlanta in the East). Plenty of wins will be available for the res t of t he lea gue, a nd the battle for the first overall pick may never be more fierce. Big Papi's farewell The farewell tour isn't just for rock bands anymore. It'd be a stretch to say it has become the norm across baseball — unless, of course, you follow baseball only as ESPN would sug - gest and watch just the Yankees and Red Sox. For the third time in four years, the American League East will experience a farewell tour, with Boston designated hitter David Ortiz's announced plans to retire following this season. Ortiz follows up Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in 2013 and shortstop Derek Jeter in 2014 by announcing his plans well in advance. (Ortiz announced it last November, on his 40th birthday.) The Red Sox slugger and New England folk hero, who, by the way, got an extremely warm reception in Oakland in 2012 after hitting his 400th home run, might not be revered on his goodbye tour as much as Jeter and Rivera. After all, he has connections to performance-enhancing drug use from a 2003 failed drug test, before rules were in place to crack down. But he still will collect his share of gifts and cheers along the way. Mariners on the clock The past two seasons have seen lengthy postseason droughts end with the Toronto Blue Jays mak- ing it last year to stop a 21-year skid and the Kansas City Royals knocking down a 28-year gap the year before. Those come after the Pitts - burgh Pirates ended a 20-year ab- sence in 2013. All are among the longest postseason droughts from the expanded postseason era. The Seattle Mariners now hold the indignity of baseball's longest playoff drought, which sits at 14 years. The Pacific Northwest hasn't experienced the postseason since the magical year of 2001, when the Mariners won an Amer - ican League record 116 games, then lost the ALCS in five games to the New York Yankees. The Miami Marlins have the next longest drought, at 12 sea - sons, dating to the 2003 World Series title. It has been a good run in baseball for seeing new teams find their way into the playoffs. It would be a little bit of a surprise for Seattle or Miami to reach Oc - tober this season, but that's why they play the game. Dusty in the dugout Dusty Baker wasn't ready to call it a career. Despite two years out of the game, the 66-year-old is returning to the dugout in 2016 with the Washington Nationals. He will be the second-oldest manager in the majors, behind fellow 66-year- old Terry Collins of the New York Mets, and will try to manage his fourth franchise to the playoffs. Baker certainly doesn't fit the new mold of hiring young former players fairly fresh out of the game, but he has experience. Of current skippers, only the Giants' Bruce Bochy has managed more games than Baker's 3,176. He takes over the Nationals, one of baseball's most disap - pointing teams from 2015, which simply cratered under former manager Matt Williams. Washing- ton has owned one of the game's most talented rosters since 2012 but hasn't won a playoff series. Perhaps Baker's player-friendly style will get them over the top and bring some October glory to the nation's capital. JDURKIN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM BarryBondshastradedtheorangeandblackoftheGiants for the orange and black of the Marlins. Miami's new hitting coach will share his knowledge with the team's young lineup. BY JIMMY DURKIN