Have you ever driven by a small business in your town and wondered, “how did they make it in this town for so long?” If you grew up in a small town (like I did) or quaint village or suburban area is there a car dealership or flower shop or shoe store that has spanned your lifetime and has outlived their competition? And one that is still growing and evolving and bringing in customers (loyal and new) year after year, while other similar type businesses have folded and are long since gone? Well, if you have one of these businesses in your area, go inside and ask them, “what is your secret to success?” I will bet you a cheeseburger from 5 Guys that their answer is most likely some variation of “taking care of the customer is our number 1 priority.”

A week or so ago, I received an enthusiastic email from Tom Alesia about a book he authored about the Madison Mallards, a summer collegiate baseball league team. In the email, he asked me if I would like a copy of his soon to be release book, “Baseball Like It Oughta Be,” a detailed account of how the Mallards became a baseball powerhouse in the Madison, Wisconsin community. The Mallards play in the Northwoods League, a prominent summer collegiate baseball league destination for some of the nation’s top college baseball players nationwide. In his email, Tom proclaimed the Mallards were “the nation’s most popular summer-collegiate team since 2003,” which intrigued me since I have spent over a decade attending Cape Cod Baseball League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Futures League, Coastal Plain League, and Hamptons Collegiate League games – and there are some pretty popular fanbases that support those teams. So, I happily accepted Tom’s offer to read and review his book and learn more about the success story that is the Madison Mallards.

I read the book in 2 days. All 178 pages of it. Why so fast you say? It was one of the easiest books to read that I can recall reading in recent years. It was interesting. It was informative. It had stats and funny stories and interviews and quotes from the major players and major contributors to the Mallard’s success over the years. It was a linear story, so one thing led to another which led to another in a logical progression. And it was a cool baseball story with a ton of happy endings that did not necessarily involve the score on the field or the trophy the team hoisted at the conclusion of the season. Tom Alesia masterfully chronicles why the Madison Mallards are a success story in so many wonderful ways.

Let’s go back to my first thought – the small business that made it over the others. Customer service, taking care of the customer’s needs, being there for a customer in need, understanding what the customer wants and giving them a great experience in your business. Whether it is a car dealership or flower shop or in the case of the ownership of the Madison Mallards, a shoe store, being customer obsessed tends to pay off in the long run. Some ideas work, others don’t – but the ultimate goal is making the customer happy and encouraging their happy return to your business. Literally, the foundation of the Madison Mallards business philosophy, again described in fantastic detail by author Tom Alesia in this book. And one other thing about successful small businesses – surround yourself with people who feel the same way you do about customer service.

The Madison Mallards built a summer collegiate league mega-fan base from the ground up. Meaning they drew next to no one in their initial campaign years, were dealing with a city that had failed in recent years with both amateur and minor league baseball, and a lack of public support in the media. So, how did they turn it around? One step at a time. One fan at a time. One season at a time. One promotional idea that stuck and clicked at a time. Building momentum season after season by giving the customer, in this case the Mallard’s fan, the very best game experience possible, on and off the field. Promotions, guest appearances, giveaways (wow, did they give away stuff), shaking fans’ hands as they enter and leave the park, the owner on site flipping burgers, affordability – the list goes on and on. You have to read how they did it because it is literally the blueprint for how you build a fanbase for a baseball league or a small business.

And by the way, this is where the Madison Mallards play their home games. It is called “The Duck Pond.” This is a summer collegiate baseball league team’s home field folks, are you kidding me? No joke, this has to be one of the most impressive home fields in the entire country. It seats nearly 7,000 and from what Tom Alesia wrote it sells out quite often year after year. Wow, very impressive.

Take a second (or 12 minutes) to check out this YouTube video on the Duck Pond experience. Wish I was there in the stands, but this is a cool way to experience the Madison Mallards experience.

“Baseball Like It Oughta Be” is a baseball book about how to build and sustain a successful business in Madison, Wisconsin or quite frankly Anytown, USA. The players, the decision makers – Steve Schmitt, Vern Stenman, just to name a few – running the team are the absolute definition of customer obsessed and have produced success that reaches far beyond the foul lines of the Duck Pond. The Madison community has benefited tremendously from the success of the Mallards and the philanthropy of the Mallards organization. Tom Alesia does a wonderful job writing an easy to read, easy to get on board narrative of how the team built its success one step, one idea at a time. Mallard fans gobbled up the wacky promotions and interesting celebrity appearances and family friendly atmosphere early on and continue coming back to the Duck Pond season after season. Through some ups and downs in the business and the world, the Madison Mallards stayed true to their customer obsessed philosophies and were the better for it. I highly recommend “Baseball Like It Oughta Be” and look forward to following the Madison Mallards this season and for years to come.

Huge thanks to Tom Alesia for sending this amazing book. For more information on the book and Tom, head over to www.tomwriteturns.com. If you are in the Madison, Wisconsin area this summer and would like to see a Madison Mallards game, here is their 2025 schedule.