SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Maybe Barry Zito is just trying to get on his new teammate’s good side, or maybe he knows a different side of Barry Bonds than nearly everyone else.

Zito, the newest Giant, requested and received the locker nearest to the surly slugger in the Giants’ spring-training clubhouse and in their regular clubhouse at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

“He’s a wonderful man,” Zito said of Bonds. “He’s always smiling and having a good time. It’s going to be really great just to be around a guy like that, one of the greatest players of all time if not the greatest.”

For years, Bonds’ various personal trainers have occupied the lockers next to him, creating a cocoon around the slugger. The Giants stipulated in Bonds’ new contract that the trainers would no longer be allowed in the clubhouse.