A day after the Miami Marlins fired him as hitting coach, Barry Bonds posted on his personal blog a message of thanks and farewell to club officials.

"Working with the Marlins this past season has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my baseball career," Bonds wrote. "I am grateful and humbled that Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins gave me the opportunity to be a part of their organization. Though my contract was only for one year, I enjoyed sharing my hitting knowledge and other aspects of the game with such a talented group of players.

"I am proud of the their development and accomplishments over the course of the season and hope they will be able to continue to build off their hard work as they head into next year. I look forward to what the future holds for me - but I do know that baseball is and always will be in my blood."

Bonds made a full-time return to baseball this season when he joined the Marlins.

The Marlins this season scored 655 runs, which ranked ahead of only the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League.

"I don't need to get into the reasons really with anything with Barry," Don Mattingly said. "We feel like any time you talk about coaches and letting someone go those are not easy things to talk about. We'll just try to get the best guy for the situation."