More Praise for Baseball Like it Oughta be
“An entertaining look at how to build an audience for a sports team when the result on the field is less important to many fans than the entertainment and atmosphere of it. Plenty of interesting characters! Pretty sure it’s the only book to mention Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Gary Coleman and Pete Alonso. A fun read!” – Sports Book Reviews
“Upon first visiting Madison in 2012, I sensed something extraordinary at the Duck Pond. While nothing lasts forever, the Mallards have now thrived for nearly 25 years and just continue to crush it, one summer after another. This book should be studied by every minor- and summer-league executive. The Mallards’ success story is filled with resilience, creativity and community spirit.” – Casey Award winner Rob Neyer, author, Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game
“What a hoot! I still have a Mallards’ uniform hanging on my wall! (Team owner) Steve Schmitt loved to compete. Go Mallards!” – Bill “Spaceman” Lee, renowned pitcher for 14 major league seasons
“It’s a fun journey to a level of baseball most fans never get to visit! The characters, the aspirations, the adventures – all make for a very entertaining tale.” – Marty Appel, baseball historian and author, Pinstripe Empire, the New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss and two-time Casey Award winner
“Baseball Like It Oughta Be shows how a try-anything team overcame the odds to forge an enduring connection with its fans. Tom Alesia’s colorful cast of characters includes front-office sharpies with an eye for eccentric promotions and collegiate players with big-league dreams, plus 25 years’ worth of celebrities, mascots, and bat dogs who enlivened Madison Mallards seasons. Alesia digs up fascinating details, and his fondness for this particular team—and the sport in general—comes through vividly.” – Dean Robbins, author, Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed the State, the World, and Me
“It’s so much fun! The history brings to the forefront something spectacular in Madison!” – host Bianca Martin, City Cast Madison podcast
“Fantastic!” – Midwest Writers Room podcast
“It captures the wild, inspiring rise of the Madison Mallards. A must-read for anyone who loves the game–or a great underdog story!” – Bruce Adams, owner, Bethesda Big Train
“I loved this book: the story, the players, the owner, team leaders and the Duck Pond! Tom Alesia chronicles the Mallards in so many wonderful ways. I highly recommend it!” – The Baseball Storyteller (Noel Roby)
“An entertaining deep dive” – Jim Polzin, sports columnist, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
“The Mallards redefined summer baseball while smashing national attendance records.” – Michael Popke, alt-newspaper Isthmus, Madison
“Tom Alesia burst on the baseball writing scene with his bio of Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft. And I really enjoyed Baseball Like It Oughta Be! An entertaining book about a team that had to be different to succeed. — Gregg Hoffman, Midwest Baseball Report
“Baseball Like it Oughta Be is an underdog story reminiscent of Moneyball, but with a model based on marketing and fun rather than math-driven analytics. Readers will enjoy Tom Alesia’s lively narrative about how the Madison Mallards generated phenomenal levels of support by emphasizing community and the fan experience.” – Kent Krause, author of Sunny Jim Bottomley: A Biography of a Hall of Fame First Baseman and Wahoo Sam Crawford
“The Mallards are so much fun! Grab this book!” – Seattle’s Katie Quinn, The Sports Librarian
“Since the Mallards’ launch in 2001, summer-collegiate baseball has blown up across the country. The Mallards’ focus on fun and baseball created a template for others to emulate. Tom Alesia does a great job telling the entertaining story of the team!” – Doug Melvin, Milwaukee Brewers senior advisor and former general manager
“I loved it – thoroughly enjoyed it!” – Dennis Degenhardt, president, Society of American Baseball Research, Wisconsin chapter
“Sparkling, well-written, comprehensive tale of one of the great baseball success stories of the last 25 years … just dang fun!” – John Kovalic, writer/cartoonist and game designer (Apples to Apples, Munchkin)
“I really enjoyed it! An essential baseball read. Excellent!” – Mary Shea, book club organizer, Society of American Baseball Research, Wisconsin chapter
“It’s the inside story of how the Madison Mallards became summer-collegiate baseball’s top draw and brought new life to a downtrodden ballpark,” – OurSports Central.com
“It is well overdue to put a spotlight on the Madison Mallards operation. There is no team in summer collegiate baseball that is close to them in attendance.” — Dick Radatz, Jr., chairman, Northwoods League
“Long before the Savannah Bananas became a household name, the Madison Mallards took a broken-down ballpark in a failed baseball market and started outdrawing virtually every team in the minor leagues. Tom Alesia skillfully describes their story in this entertaining narrative. This book should be a must-read for anyone in sport!” – Mark Cryan, professor of sport management, former minor league general manager, and co-founder of the Coastal Plains League