FORT SMITH -- Steve Maddock has played, coached and managed in about every state over his expansive baseball career.
Except Arkansas.
That will change in May when he officially begins his career as manager of the Fort Smith Marshals.
"It's probably the only state that I haven't coached in," Maddock said. "I like the area. Everybody's been real nice. I've watched the college team work out. It's a great opportunity for guys from all over the country to come here and see what it's all about."
The Marshals are one of six teams in the newly formed Mid-America League, a summer baseball development league of mostly college players that will play 68 games over a span of 80 days. The team recently signed a contract to play home games at Bill Crowder Field at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith with the opener on May 23.
Maddock was introduced last week at a press conference as the team's manager for the 2024 season.
"When the opportunity became available and I found out the guys behind it, I've known them from other leagues and other things in baseball, having a good baseball background is really what led me here and to get on board here," Maddock said.
The team will be made up of mostly college players.
"We have players from junior college, Division I, II and III, from NAIA, from all over the board," Maddock said. "It will be year two before we get those Division I guys once we've established ourselves. The guys we're bringing in come from real good baseball. It won't be much different from pro ball and the minor leagues, but the great thing is to take part in watching these players grow. They're working their way to hopefully signing to play ball. It's a chance to get them up close and personal. We'll get them around the city and let them be a part of the community."
The players will also range from local to international.
"They're coming from the Dominican, New York, from all over the country," Maddock said. "They'll be from all over the country, kids from every background. They'll be on a team and maybe meet for two days and play together."
The rosters will be finalized over the next few weeks and already includes players from UAFS.
"They'll be a few," Maddock said. "We've signed some from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith that are local. Over half of them will be from outside of Arkansas."
Maddock played collegiately at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, and spent seven years pitching in various independent leagues in several different states. He also spent eight seasons as a manager in different independent leagues in several different states before managing developmental college teams as well as recently coaching Trinity High School in Cedar Hill, Texas, in addition to owning and operating numerous baseball academies.
He's selected Mike Goss as his hitting coach and Toro Trevino as his pitching coach.
"We've got some big guys coming in," Maddock said. "They are two of my former players in the minor leagues. We were lucky with that kind of experience."
Goss played at Jackson State University and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round in the 2002 draft. He spent 11 seasons playing in the minor leagues and independent leagues combined.
Trevino played at Emporia State University and spent six season playing independent baseball.
The roster will consist of 30 players, split among pitchers and position players.
"With 68 games in 80 days, it will be a grind for these guys that are used to three games a week," Maddock said. "It's even more of a grind than minor league ball. A lot of our pitchers were on innings limit. Obviously, they are here to get better, so we don't want to over use them."
The league already has automatic rivalries with four Texas teams with the Marshals.
"I'm a big Arkansas Razorback fan," Maddock said. "I don't how I got to be, but I love the Razorbacks. My goal is to win as many games as possible, against Texas or not."
The remaining team, Joplin, recently selected Outlaws as their nickname, which also develops a natural rivalry for a team named the Marshals.
"It will be interesting," Maddock said. "Each team has done well with the naming and marketing. It's made for a lot of fun."
Games will consist of nine innings and won't install such recent changes to Major League Baseball with bigger bases, ghost runners on second base in extra innings and limits on pick off throws.
"It will be real baseball," Maddock said. "We need the city and the fans to come out and support us, to see the brand of baseball we'll have. It will be inexpensive entertainment for the family to come out for an evening of baseball and mingle with the players."
The Marshals continue a rich tradition of baseball in Fort Smith, which hosted a Class C minor league team mostly as the Giants for close to 60 years that played at Andrews Field near downtown. The final year, 1953, the team was the Fort Smith-Van Buren Twins. Fort Smith also hosted a collegiate developmental team in the mid-80s called the Red Sox, which ended in 1987. The team was sponsored and coached by David Allen and played in a league with Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri teams.
Team merchandise is available at the team office at 101 North 10th Street, Suite A, and season tickets are available at the team's website at fortsmithmarshals.com.