Maloney scouts for future baseball talent

It's still difficult at times for Matt Maloney to show up to the baseball stadium and watch someone else pitch.The decision to end his lengthy playing career was out of the 2002 Huron graduate's hands."It's tough to deal with, but the decision was pretty much made for me," said Maloney, who pitched professionally 11 years, including four seasons in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins. "I was facing extensive surgery and didn't want to go through it again with Tommy John, so I figured it was time to hang em' up."I miss playing," he added. "It's tough to go to the park and watch guys play. When you're done because of injury, it's hard to kind of accept being done."Forced into retirement after four starts with the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League last year, Maloney wanted to stay in baseball.Today, he can be found at high school and college ballparks throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky as the Ohio Valley area scout for the San Diego Padres."I'm thankful I get to go to parks every day and watch baseball," Maloney said. "I enjoy traveling and have already met a lot of new people doing this, so I do enjoy it. It's a lot of time from home still, but it's been very worthwhile."Looking for work, Maloney had good connections in his baseball travels to get an interview with the Padres organization, and ultimately get the job in October 2015."I wanted to stay in baseball and have been doing it for 12 years now," he said. "It's just what I know. I had wanted to stay on the coaching side, and I had a roommate during my time in Louisville (Triple-A Reds affiliate) who became a scout, and he really enjoyed it."There is also the home life aspect," Maloney added. "As a player, you have spring training, then go away for the season. With scouting, you're still on the road, but always come home. It's pretty appealing."New life on the roadMaloney is at his busiest as a scout in the late spring and much of the summer — notably the weeks leading up to the early June MLB Draft.Maloney and his wife, Huron grad Kalee (Basting), live in Granville — about 30 miles east of Columbus."In the summer I'm gone at a lot of tournaments and showcases, and I'll go down to the Georgia and Florida region," he said. "And spring time is really busy, obviously with the amateur baseball scene with the draft soon after."The nice part has been I'm able to get home some nights making commuting trips," Maloney added. "I can shoot up to Kent or Ohio State, Ohio U., places like that. I get back and come down for the day and night."Maloney said a typical week shows a lighter slate of scouting on Mondays and Thursdays in the spring, at least initially."With high school baseball not getting into full swing until April, there are a couple of months where Mondays and Thursdays are down," he said. "But pretty much Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays I'm on road watching games."Closer to the draft, I'll probably get home with nothing going on maybe one day a week, if at all," Maloney added. "But again, the nice thing has been there are some trips where I come back home and get to sleep in my bed."How it worksMaloney has a direct supervisor with the Padres that he submits his reports on potential prospects, otherwise known as a cross-checker."He comes in, and I will say if I like certain guys, what I see," Maloney said. "Then if he likes them, other higher up people come in, the big-time hierarchy from within the San Diego organization."I'm at the bottom end of the chain, but I think with my background there is room to move up — and move quickly," he added.Since November 2015, the Padres have traded MLB talent such as James Shields, Matt Kemp, Fernando Rodney, Drew Pomeranz, Craig Kimbrel and Marc Rzepczynski among others in a total rebuild within.Through Sunday, the Padres are 56-80 — last in the National League West division. A year removed from gutting their farm system in an effort to make the playoffs, the team has again placed an emphasis on building within.In the June draft, the team had six selections inside the top 100 picks."The big league team has struggled, so we've traded off some bigger contracts to get some prospects in there and get rid of some payroll," Maloney said. "It's an exciting time, these guys haven't proven anything, but we have guys with really good stuff in a revamped farm system."We're very integral in that, our general manager (A.J. Preller) really trusts and believes in us," he added. "He will call to ask about players we like. It's good to feel like you're a part of building something."Reflecting backDrafted by the Philadelphia Phillies out of the University of Mississippi in the third round of the 2005 MLB Draft, Maloney was traded by the Phillies to the Reds for starter Kyle Lohse at the trade deadline in 2007.In 2011, he was claimed off waivers by the Twins prior to the 2012 season. He signed with Boston prior to spring training in 2013. He was signed again by the Reds on May 23, 2014, but was released 10 days later.In four MLB seasons (31 appearances, 11 starts), Maloney was 5-9 with a 5.74 ERA and 59 strikeouts to 18 walks in 91 innings. His best season came in 2010 with the Reds when he went 2-2 with a 3.05 ERA in seven games (two starts).In 10 minor league seasons for 11 team affiliates, Maloney was 70-49 with a 3.52 ERA in 156 starts. He was also a two-time minor league All-Star (2006, 2007) as well as the Most Outstanding Pitcher of the South Atlantic League (2006)."I expected more of myself, for lack of a better term, so I'm somewhat disappointed how it turned out," Maloney said of his pitching career. "I felt like I was better than what I did, or that I could have pitched longer — but that's the competitor in me."But when I take a step back and look at things and realize how long I played professionally, I'm proud of what I did," he added. "They were the best years of my life and a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."Matt Maloney, a 2002 Huron graduate, asks for a new baseball during a June 2, 2010, minor league baseball game between the Louisville Bats and the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park in Columbus. After an 11-year professional baseball career, Maloney is adapting to life as a regional scout for the San Diego Padres.Matt Maloney, a 2002 Huron graduate, throws a pitch to a batter during a June 2, 2010, minor league baseball game between the Louisville Bats and the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park in Columbus. After a 10-year professional baseball career, Maloney is adapting to life as a regional scout for the San Diego Padres.Matt Maloney throws a pitch during his third inning appearance in the SAL All-Star game on June 20, 2006 at Classic Park in Eastlake. Maloney struck out two of three batters he faced.