FELLOW BASEBALL FAN, how far into your major league stadium bucket list did you get? I hit only 6½ (farewell, old Busch Stadium) before a family and career put my experience-collecting on hold. But these days, I’m considering a more attainable baseball quest focused on Wisconsin’s many non-MLB stadiums of a certain caliber. Here are a few highlights from the checklist below: 

1. The Duck Pond

MADISON | MADISON MALLARDS | NORTHWOODS LEAGUE

The Mallards are known for putting on all kinds of fun during which a baseball game occasionally breaks out. Over its 21 seasons at the stadium in Madison’s Warner Park, the team has hosted celebrities from Gary Coleman to “American Idol” trainwreck William Hung to slugger Jose Canseco, who had a minor-league pit stop in Madison as a teenager in 1983. And a ticket to The Duck Blind section gets you seven innings of all you care to eat or drink for $26-$42.

2. Carson Park

EAU CLAIRE | EAU CLAIRE EXPRESS | NORTHWOODS LEAGUE

While several of the state’s Northwoods League ballparks have long histories as minor league outposts, none surpasses what happened in this tidy little stadium surrounded by an oxbow lake. In 1952, an 18-year-old Black kid from Mobile, Alabama, came to northern Wisconsin to play baseball, his first professional assignment en route to Cooperstown. Henry Aaron has said the warm welcome he received from fans at Carson Park was a highlight of his illustrious career.

3. Fox Cities Stadium

GRAND CHUTE | WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS | MIDWEST LEAGUE

What makes a great game day experience? Walk-up music? A lively video scoreboard? Kiss cam-style fan stunts? Fireworks after every weekend game? Whatever that alchemy is, the Timber Rattlers have it down. Plus, you might spy some future Brewers all-stars, as the Rattlers are the club’s High-A affiliate. 

4. Capital Credit Union Park

ASHWAUBENON | GREEN BAY ROCKERS | NORTHWOODS LEAGUE

This modern, spacious ballpark less than a mile south of Lambeau Field and all its tourist trappings opened in 2019. While the team’s extremely Green Bay previous name, the Booyah, only lasted two years, the “Rockers” does fit, as there are pregame concerts out in right field every night.

5. ABC Supply Stadium 

BELOIT | BELOIT SKY CARP | MIDWEST LEAGUE 

This gleaming new stadium hosting the Miami Marlins’ High-A club is a picture of retro-modern baseball. The striking facade resembles an old train station, but the interior is all amenities, with a video board, party deck and luxury suites. As a bonus, it’s on the edge of Rock River and an up-and-coming downtown. 

Wisconsin Baseball Checklist: