What’s This – A Contest?

Well, sort of.

My wife and I went on a trip to Pennsylvania this weekend, making stops in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  I’ll have much more from the stop in Pittsburgh, including words AND pictures, but for now, let’s just leave it at this: we signed up to spin the prize wheel again and I won free tickets.  Again.

(Well, the slip says, “Discounted tickets”, but when I went on the web site to check, it said they were complimentary.  They’re probably free but upgradeable for a few dollars. Just my disclaimer.)

Unfortunately for me, I don’t think I’m going to get to Pittsburgh again before the last home game on September 28.  Fortunately for you, the readers, I’m offering them to you.  All you have to do is be the first to send me an email at onemoredyingquail@gmail.com.  My wife and I are traveling home today, so I’ll send the web site and entry code to the winner later on tonight.

The winner will also have the chance to write a post for Bus Leagues about their experience.

Just for reference, here are the remaining games on the Pirates schedule (all promotions except tomorrow’s are listed on the team’s pocket schedules and subject to change; news of tomorrow’s promo was brought to us by bobblehead guru Eric M:

Tuesday, 9/8/09 vs. Chicago – 7:05 – Arnold Palmer Bobblehead giveaway
Wednesday, 9/9/09 vs. Chicago – 12:35 – Pirates Alumni Autographs
Friday, 9/18/09 vs. San Diego – 7:05 – Pirates Fleece Blanket
Saturday, 9/19/09 vs. San Diego – 12:35 – Pirates Gold Cap
Sunday, 9/20/09 vs. San Diego – 1:35 – Kids Day (Pirate Parrot Build-A-Bear Workshop Day)
Monday, 9/21/09 vs. San Diego – 7:05
Tuesday, 9/22/09 vs. Cincinnati – 7:05
Wednesday, 9/23/09 vs. Cincinnati – 7:05
Thursday, 9/24/09 vs. Cincinnati – 12:35 – Pirates T-Shirt Thursday
Friday, 9/25/09 vs. Los Angeles – 7:05 – Fans Vote Bobblehead
Saturday, 9/26/09 vs. Los Angeles – 7:05 – Skyblast III featuring Zambelli Fireworks and Foreigner in concert
Sunday, 9/27/09 vs. Los Angeles – 1:35 – Fan Appreciation Day
Monday, 9/28/09 vs. Los Angeles – 12:35 – 2010 Magnetic Schedule/Pirates Alumni Autographs

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Looking For A Pat Burrell Bobblehead? Don’t Go To Clearwater

As Eric M. has mentioned here several times this season, the Clearwater Threshers are celebrating the 2008 World Series win of its parent club, the Philadelphia Phillies, by staging bobblehead giveaway nights in honor of each regular member of the starting lineup.  Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins already had their days; Pat Burrell was scheduled to be handed out last night – until the mighty Tampa Bay Rays reached down and put the kibosh on the whole deal.

According to a statement released by team general manager John Timberlake,

The Threshers are in violation of the Major League Baseball Agency Agreement which, in this instance, prohibits the promotion of the Phillies brand within the home television territory of the Tampa Bay Rays.

It seems strange that the Rays are just calling the Threshers on this now when it was clearly a planned season-long promotion.  All I can figure is that it had something to do the fact that Burrell left Philadelphia for Tampa as a free agent after last season and the Rays don’t want an organization located twenty minutes away to give away bobbleheads of one of their players in another team’s uniform.

On a local note, this helps explain why the New Hampshire Fisher Cats give away mostly Red Sox-themed bobbleheads.  Because they are within the Red Sox “home television territory”, they probably aren’t able to do such giveaways related to the Blue Jays, or at the very least require special permission to do so.

Update: Okay, so it wasn’t directly related to the Burrell bobblehead.  Much a pity.

The Threshers had already given out one bobblehead and were advertising the second when the Rays first raised the issue a month ago. On Thursday night — the eve of Friday’s planned third giveaway, of former Phillie and current Ray Pat Burrell — the Threshers ended the promotion.

That article also notes the question of what to do with sponsorship money and the bobbleheads themselves.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 8

Got bobblehead questions? Want to see if your favorite player has been immortalized in bobbly form within the past few years? You know where to go – The Only Accurate Bobblehead Collector’s Board, which was recently featured in an article that appeared on ESPN The Magazine’s web site.  Every Sunday night, TOABCB creator Eric Marinbach takes us through the upcoming week in The Land of Bobble.

Monday, July 14
Brooklyn Cyclones – Boomer Esiason/Craig Carton Double (first 2500) – The former QB along with a former NJ radio DJ comprise this double bobble, and the duo will be there to broadcast the game that night.

Tuesday, July 15
Everett Aquasox – Paul Silvi – Sports Anchor for Fox local TV.

Worcester Tornadoes – Kevin Shea – Local sports anchor bobble

Wednesday, July 16
Madison Mallards – Millie (Mini) (Mascot) – Maynard’s new partner gets her first bobble.

Thursday, July 17
None

Friday, July 18
Daytona Cubs – Jeff Samardzija – This two-sport star continues to progress his way to The Show and through levels of bobbles.

Lowell Spinners – Wade Boggs – Probably will darn Sox attire in this bobble since he never played here.

New Hampshire Fishercats – Chris Carpenter – He went to HS here so he’s more of a local hero since he never pitched here.
 
San Antonio Missions – Chase Headley – Padres rising star in his AA jersey.

San Francisco Giants – Crazy Crab (Mascot) – There are actually two versions of the bobble: one for a theme night and a separate one for the regular fans.

Seattle Mariners – Felix Hernandez – King Felix continues the 2008 series.

Stockton Ports – Kurt Suzuki – A short journey on his way to Oakland in bobble land.

Saturday, July 19
Arizona Diamondbacks – Bob Melvin – Isn’t it amazing how below-average players become great managers and bobbles?
 
Billings Mustangs – Joey Votto – This was the Cincinnati Reds first baseman’s first stop on the road to stardom.

Casper Ghost – Tim Ray – Popular announcer in belly form.

Fresno Grizzlies – Tim Lincecum – Does the SI jinx apply in bobble land?

Gastonia Grizzlies – Chizzle (Mascot) – I guess they got this mascot’s name because it rhymes?

Minnesota Twins – Delmon Young – At least this doesn’t come with a throwable bat!!
 
Oklahoma Redhawks – Johnny Bench Statuette – Still the best in the HOF class of catchers, now ensconsed in bronze.

Omaha Royals – Carlos Beltran Figurine – The winner of the fans vote for the 90’s figurine.

Orange County Flyers – Darrell Evans – Former manager still popular enough to be given as a bobblehead.

Rockford Riverhawks – Ferguson Jenkins – Another in the Rockford Cubbies HOF series.

Salem Avalanche – Hunter Pence – This was the Carolina League stop for this budding Astros stud OFer.

Sunday, July 20
Beloit Snappers – Brian Duensing – At least the Brewers have been able to escape trading him in order to bolster their roster.

Columbus Clippers – Derek Jeter – Clippers 90s decade all-time great and certain Hall of Famer for the Yankees.

Washington WildThings – Aaron Ledbetter – Ledbetter holds Frontier League career records in Wins, Games Started, Innings Pitched and Strikeouts.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 7

Eric M. of The Only Accurate Bobblehead Collectors Board fame will be in Bridgeport on Friday, July 11, to pick up his very own Tommy John Bobble Arm. If you see him, be sure to say hello (and wish him a Happy Birthday). If only he could get to West Michigan on Wednesday for the Dave Rozema Bobble Leg, the week would be complete.

Monday, July 7
None

Tuesday, July 8
Iowa Cubs – Vida Blue – Vida’s record of 165 Ks in 1970, which included a 16 strikeout performance, still stands today.

Wednesday, July 9
Trenton Thunder – Phil Hughes (first 2000) – This marks a second edition of the young phenom.

Tri-City Valleycats – Mayor Harry Tutunjian – The second in the Tri-City area bobblehead series.

West Michigan Whitecaps – Dave Rozema (Karate Kick Bobbleleg) – This former Tiger doing his Ralph Macchio imitation.

Thursday, July 10
Portland Seadogs – Dustin Pedroia – This Sox middle infielder seems to be growing popular even in resin form.

Princeton Devilrays – Josh Hamilton – Congrats to this 2008 MLB All-Star who is also finally making it big in bobble form.

State College Spikes – Zach Duke – Zack was the winner of the fan vote for 2008.

Friday, July 11
Bridgeport Bluefish – Tommy John (Bobble Arm) – Wonder if this one will contain the famous scar, much like the one with the Charlotte Knights once did.

Clearwater Threshers – Andrew Carpenter – Another great Phillies prospect debuting in the resin ranks.

Las Vegas 51s – Takashi Saito – Same exact bobble that the Dodgers gave earlier in June.

Tri-City Dustdevils – Dusty (Mascot) – Pasco’s favorite mascot as a collectible.

Saturday, July 12
Albuquerque Isotopes – Orbit (Mascot) This popular mascot comes back as a bobble.

Columbus Catfish – Don Zimmer Figurine – At least Popeye won’t be wearing his army helmet in this, nor will he give one to Pedro Martinez.

Jacksonville Suns – Chin-Lung Hu – Struggled with the Dodgers in ’08 but remains a popular Sun.

Norfolk Tides – BJ Upton – Part of the Local Hero Series.

Round Rock Express – Nolan Ryan – Team owner gets another bobble.

Southern Illinois Miners – Travis Hope – In three seasons with New York Mets organization went 11-5 with a 3.74 ERA and eight saves.

Sunday, July 13
Columbus Clippers – Marshall Brant/Steve Balboni Double – Two very popular first basemen in the Yankees chain during the 1970s and 1980s. Unfortunately Brant never made the Show.

Lake County Captains – Fausto Carmona – First time as a bobble here after the team previouly made a figurine for him.

Philadelphia Phillies – Shane Victorino (Flyin’ Hawaiian) Figurine – Aloha Philadelphia.

Reading Phillies – Chase Utley – This time it’s for the kids.

River City Rascals – Phil Laurent – Had a cup of coffee with the Padres rookie league team, now back as a Rascals fan favorite.

Washington WildThings – Wildthing (Mascot) – Trust me, this is not Charlie Sheen or Mitch Williams in the costume.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 6

Little late this week. Fortunately, there’s still time to get any bobblehead on this list (unless Reading or Tri-City are playing those awful 10:35 AM games that teams occasionally schedule these days).

Monday, June 30
Reading Phillies – Jimmy Rollins (first 2000 18 and over) – The reigning NL MVP, this time for the adults.

Tri- City Valley Cats – Mayor Jerry Jennings (first 1000) – First of a 3 part Mayoral series.

Tuesday, July 1
Long Island Ducks – Bob Ottone (PA announcer) (first 1500) – The voice of the Ducks bobbles behind his podium.

Lowell Spinners – Ted Williams (first 1500) – The Splendid Splinter in an Aviator pose.

York Revolution – Downtown (Mascot) – The stadium must be in downtown York. No clue on the mascot’s nickname.

Wednesday, July 2
Trenton Thunder – Scott Patterson (first 2000) – From the independent leagues to AA to AAA, Patterson finally gets to bobble nirvana.

Thursday, July 3
None

Friday, July 4
Orange County Flyers – Coal Train (Mascot) – Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and now mascot bobbles.

Saturday, July 5
Colorado Rockies – Matt Holliday (first 10,000) – Over the July 4th weekend, the Rockies give out Hol(l)iday cheer.

Sunday, July 6
Milwaukee Brewers – Barrel Man (Mascot) – No slide attached to this fun giveaway.

List and commentary supplied by Eric from The Only Accurate Bobblehead Collectors Board.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 5

One of these days I’ll actually get up to Merchantsauto.com Stadium and get one of the many Red Sox-related bobbleheads being given away by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats this season. This week’s, as seen below, is Jacoby Ellsbury. Get there early: they’re gonna go fast! (Get it? Because Ellsbury is really fast! Ha! Thank you! I’m here all week!)

For more info on bobbleheads past, present and future, get thee to The True Bobblehead Board, the proprietor of which puts together this list each week.

Monday, June 23
Princeton Devil Rays Rocco Baldelli Figurine (first 500) – Oh, how the mighty have fallen for this once promising star.

Quad City River Bandits – Rascal (Mascot) (first 1500 kids) – Mascots were put at ballparks for kids anyway, so no biggie here.

Wilson Tobs – Justin Verlander (first 250) – These must be leftovers from a previous overorder and lack of participation the last time this was given.

Tuesday, June 24
Cleveland Indians – Travis Hafner Mini – A big guy like Pronk as a mini bobble? Does this make any sense?

Everitt Aquasox – Frank (Mascot) (1000 kids 14 and under) – Pass the mustard

Nashville Sounds – Frank Plaster – Local Radio personality

Savannah Sandgnats – Gnate – Yes the G is silent here too.

Wednesday, June 25
Atlanta Braves – Brian McCann – First Major League bobble having been already produced at the A and AA levels.

Trenton Thunder – Chien-Ming Wang (first 2000) – Will this bobble continue to draw the big bucks like past Wangs that had garnered $500+?

Thursday, June 26
Wisconsin Woodchucks – Jim Gantner (first 1000) – From Cheesehead to Woodchuck all in the same state.

Friday, June 27
Erie Seawolves – Tom Brookens (first 1000) – Another former player turned manager rising fast through the bobble ladder. First was in West Michigan.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Jacoby Ellsbury (first 2000) – Never played here and the bobble is in the Lowell jersey with just a different sponsor plaque.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Dave Parker – Part of the Lumber Company series.

Princeton Devil Rays – Jonny Gomes (first 500) – Just don’t show these to Shelley Duncan.

Stockton Ports – Splash (Mascot) (first 1000) – Last of the 4 part series.

Wilmington Bluerocks – Jacoby Ellsbury (first 1000) – He definitely did play here as opposed to the above where they just used one mold for 2 bobbles

Saturday, June 28
Arkansas Travelers – George Kell (first 1000) – He will also be there to autograph them as well.

Lake County Captains – Buster Bluegill (Mini) (Mascot) – The first in a set of 4 mini fish bobbles.

Lakewood Blueclaws – Carlos Ruiz (first 2000) – Another in the long line of ‘Claws that have “Made the Phillies”

Omaha Royals – George Brett Figurine – Hope the pine tar is at its legal limit.

Rockford Riverhawks – Billy Williams – The Cubbies HOF set continues.

Sacramento Rivercats – Del Rodgers – Local Radio Personality

Sunday, June 29
Minnesota Twins – Paul Molitor Bronze Statuette – Another HOFer in Bronze form.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 3

For the last two weeks, I have snagged some basic bobblehead giveaway information from The True Bobblehead Board (which prides itself on being “the only accurate bobblehead board”); starting this week, Eric M., who runs that board, will be providing an interesting fact or two about each bobblehead.

Make no mistake about it: all the information you see below is available as a result of Eric’s hard work. Make sure you head on over there and show your appreciation.

Monday, June 9
Los Angeles Angels – John Lackey – To honor Lackey’s 2007 achievement as an ERA leader. This will be Lackey’s pro debut in bobblehead stardom as his last came in 2003 as a member of the Boise Hawks in his rookie season.

West Michigan Whitecaps – Phil Regan (First 1000 fans) – Regan managed the team in 2002 and took them to the second round of the playoffs.

Tuesday, June 10
Cincinnati Reds – Joe Nuxhall Bronze Statue (First 30,000 fans) – With Nuxhall’s unfortunate passing earlier this season, this is the perfect commemorative for all his fans of his playing or broadcasting days.

Wednesday, June 11
Trenton Thunder – Melky Cabrera (First 2,000) – “Leche” will have his second consecutive season as a part of the bobblehead family, this time depicted in his white home jersey as opposed to his blue road jersey in 2007. A must for any Melky fan.

Thursday, June 12
None

Friday, June 13
Lynchburg Hillcats – Lenny Dykstra Figurine – “Nails” will become part of a celebration weekend in Lynchburg (See below).

Orange County Flyers – John Kobylt – Kobylt is part of a local radio morning show in Orange County, CA. Kobylt and his partner will even be there to throw out the first pitch and perhaps sign some autographs.

Seattle Mariners – Adrian Beltre – What were the Dodgers thinking when they drafted this 16 year old?

Saturday, June 14
Jacksonville Suns – Jon Meloan (First 3,000) – Meloan won Southern League pitcher of the year in 2007 and was quite the rave in Spring, although he didn’t have enough hype to warrant a callup yet unlike Clayton Kershaw (Future Suns bobble perhaps…hmmm)

Southern Illinois Miners – Tim Dorn – Dorn recently signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and is now in Class A Quad City.

Sunday, June 15
Columbus Clippers – Willie Stargell Bronze Statuette – This statuette of “Pops” is a continuation of an era by era salute to the teams of Columbus’s rich minor league history.

Lynchburg Hillcats – Dwight Gooden Bronze Statuette – Concludes the Hillcats HOF weekend. This was where it all began for Dr. K.

St. Louis Cardinals – Fredbird Bobble Belly (Mascot) (Kids 15 and under) – The lovable mascot will shake his tailfeathers for all the adults who have the misfortune of not being young enough to get one. Or maybe they just get a kid to get one for them to add to the mantle piece.

This Week In Bobbleheads, Part 2

Monday, June 2
None

Tuesday, June 3
Long Island Ducks – Quackerjack (Go Green) Figurine (Mascot)

Wednesday, June 4
Greenville Drive – Clay Buchholz Statue
Lakewood BlueClaws – Kyle Kendrick (Made the Phillies)
Philadelphia Phillies – Jimmy Rollins (NL MVP)

Thursday, June 5
Lakewood BlueClaws – Cole Hamels Figurine
Los Angeles Dodgers – Takashi Saito

Friday, June 6
Lexington Legends – Abe Lincoln
New Hampshire Fisher Cats – David Ortiz
Oakland Athletics – Kurt Suzuki
Peoria Chiefs – Derrek Lee
Pittsburgh Pirates – Richie Hebner
Portland Sea Dogs – Josh Beckett

Saturday, June 7
Colorado Rockies – Troy Tulowitzki
Hagerstown Suns – Elizabeth Schulze (Conductor)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals – Brian Poldberg
Tulsa Drillers – Matt Holliday Figurine

Sunday, June 8
None

The Long, Winding Road To Complete Nerd-dom

“You know, they have Monkey Boy bobbleheads for sale out front.”

Those were the words uttered by my friend Allison in the eighth inning of the Nashua Pride game last night.  She and her boyfriend, Cody, had just returned from an excursion around the ballpark with my son.  Holman Stadium is not that big, and they had found themselves on the main concourse.  Their reason for being there is unimportant: what matters is that Allison happened to see Monkey Boy, that evening’s special guest, signing autographs.  And she saw the bobbleheads.

Now, Allison is not particularly supportive of my bobblehead habit.  I bought one of Jeff Giuliano, a Nashua native who plays for the Los Angeles Kings, last week.  When the glue holding the spring gave way and the head fell almost completely off, she laughed for a full ten minutes.  But being a good friend, she knew that this was something I would enjoy, so she mentioned it.

My eyes lit up.  My wife’s face fell.  She also does not condone my bobblehead habit.

“I need to check this out,” I told her.  “I need to at least find out how much they are.”

The line was at least 75 people long and composed almost entirely of parents and small children.  It was surprisingly light on sketchy guys in their late twenties.  I wasn’t interested in an autograph or anything, so I wandered up to the head of the line, where they happened to be unwrapping bobbleheads before my very eyes.  I decided to approach a Pride employee who was standing near the table.

“Hey, I have a quick question.  How much are the bobbleheads?”

“Six dollars.”

I withdrew ten or fifteen feet to regroup and survey the line.  Still a ton of people.  Not worth waiting that long for a bobblehead.  Maybe…

“Hey, sorry, I have one more question.  Do I have to wait in line to buy a bobblehead or can I just grab one and pay for it right now, real quick?”

He looked at another employee, the one who was pulling the bobbleheads out of a bag.  She gave the okay, so I pulled my money out and handed it over.  I figured they give me an unopened box, but the guy sort of looked at me funny and I got the feeling that I was supposed to just grab one of the opened ones on the table and be on my way.

That’s when it happened: Monkey Boy picked up a bobblehead, looked at me, and made a scribbling motion with the pen in his hand.

“Want him to sign it?” someone said.

In that one moment, I went from a nerd who hopped to the front of the line to make a quick bobblehead purchase to the nerd who cut a line filled with kids to buy a bobblehead and have it signed.  That’s like seven notches higher on the nerd scale, folks. 

Monkey Boy signed my bobblehead and I got out of there as fast as I possibly could.  Back to my seat, where the first thing I saw was the “What the hell” look on my wife’s face at the sight of a small monkey clutched firmly in my left hand.  She softened somewhat when I told her the price; she softened a lot when our son decided it was the greatest thing he had ever seen and almost leapt from her seat to mine to get it.  I had to put it in his diaper bag to keep it away from him.

Oh yeah: the Pride lost, 8-1, after giving up six runs in the eighth inning.  And I still don’t know what the deal is with Davilia’s number 11.

This Week In Bobbleheads

A couple of months ago, we got a comment from a guy who had made amazing happen and compiled a list of every bobblehead giveaway scheduled for the 2008 season (full disclosure: I attempted to make a list like this for all minor league promotions. It hurt my brain and I stopped before it was even close to done). My admiration for this man knows no bounds.

I sent an email some time later to see if he might like to join the ranks here at Bus Leagues as the official promotions contributor; the resulting, deafening silence indicated that a) he was not interested or b) he no longer uses that email address. Either way, I’m not about to let this golden resource get away for another day. From now on, every Sunday I will post a list of the bobbleheads that will be available during the next seven days. This will allow you, our awesome readers, to strategize: “Can I get OMDQ the Robinson Cano AND the Shelley Duncan? How will we pull off the Braun-Gallardo double when they’re being given on THE SAME DAY?! That jerk is on his own for Petrocelli – time to actually go to a Fisher Cats game, OMDQ.” Okay, that last thought might’ve been a little harsh.

If you want to see the whole list, visit the above link. It will not be a disappointment.

Tuesday, May 27
Chicago Cubs – Kosuke Fukudome
Trenton Thunder – Robinson Cano

Wednesday, May 28
Trenton Thunder – Shelley Duncan

Thursday, May 29
Toledo Mudhens – Mike Hessman

Friday, May 30
Fort Worth Cats – Mayor Mike Moncrief
Hagerstown Suns – Blue Devil (Mascot)

Saturday, May 31
Fresno Grizzlies – Drag Kings
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Frankie Rodriguez Figurine
Salem Avalanche – Matt Holliday

Sunday, June 1
Arizona Diamondbacks – Baxter (Mascot)
Beloit Snappers – Yovani Gallardo
Greensboro Grasshoppers – Miss Babe Ruth
Milwaukee Brewers – Ryan Braun
New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Rico Petrocelli
Rochester Redwings – Stan/Stu Cliburn Double