First Look: Vin Scully Bobblehead

What we've all been waiting for, the Vin Scully bobblehead:

Pic Via @Dodgers Twitter feed

Presented by Farmer John, this bobblehead will be given away on Thursday, August 30 when the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks.


This bobblehead, like every other bobblehead the Dodgers have given away this year, looks amazing. It looks like Vinny. The scorecard and book on the desk are a great touch and the microphone in his hand is the cherry on top. Great job!

Dodgers Tease Us With Vin Scully Bobblehead Silhouette

Via Dodgers Facebook page

In all my year of collecting bobbleheads, the upcoming Vin Scully bobblehead is the one I've been the most excited about. I think most Dodger fans and bobblehead collectors can say the same thing. Today the Dodgers gave us a little tease by announcing that the picture of the Vinny bobblehead will be unveiled tomorrow. From the Dodgers Facebook page:

Tomorrow, we will unveil the Vin Scully Bobblehead courtesy of Farmer John. The only way to ensure that you will get the first ever Vin Scully Bobblehead is with a 10-Game Flex Plan

I cannot wait for tomorrow. It's obviously him behind a desk and I think there's a microphone there. Any other guesses?

Dee Gordon Update Plus Two New Autos

Before the baseball season began, I had high hopes for Dodgers lead-off hitter Dee Gordon. There was a lot of hype around the kid, and I was one of the people hyping him up. As long as he got on base, he could steal 60, 70 maybe 80 bases and score a hundred runs with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier hitting behind him. Things haven't gone that way though. Through May 18, Dee was batting .200 with a .239 OBP, so manager Don Mattingly benched him. I honestly thought Dee was headed back to the minors to work on his game, but he was back in the starting line-up four days later, this time batting eighth.


Since being moved to the bottom of the order, Dee has hit in five straight, going 8 for 18 and raising his batting average to .229 and his OBP to .270. He also added two stolen bases today, his first in more than three weeks. Not exactly great numbers, but he's improving.


I think moving Dee to the bottom of the order was the right thing for Mattingly to do,  a move that probably should have been made sooner. It's like having another lead-off hitter at the bottom of the order. Batting in front of the pitcher will help Dee get on base more and help build his confidence.


I still see flaws with Dee's approach at the plate though. He's still hacking away too much. I would like to see more attempts at bunting for hits, more slapping at the ball and more patience at the plate. Things are getting better though. I guess getting benched was a wake up call.


Onto the cards. I'm still collecting Dee, so when I get trade offers on cards I don't have, I get pretty excited. This trade came from Kevin through the Facebook page 'Sports Cards & Entertainment'. Here's what I got:


2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition /100. I've got another one of these with a red border numbered to 310, but I love this one much more because it's got the beautiful Dodger blue border.

2011 Bowman Sterling /25. I have the base version of this auto as well, which I'll post another time. I think the black border on this is gorgeous.

These two bring my Dee Gordon auto count up to 17.


Speaking of Dee Gordon, don't forget you can still pre-order your Dee Gordon bobblehead in the sidebar to the right.

Get A Free Great Infield Quad Bobblehead

From Dodgers.com

Want to get your hands on a free Garvey/Cey/Lopes/Russell Dodger Stadium SGA Quad bobblehead?  Here's how you can get that free Great Infield bobble. From BobblesGalore.com: 


As a thank you for your business, purchase any 4 bobbleheads on BobblesGalore.com from 5/23/2012 to 6/11/2012 and you will receive a FREE Infield Quad player Los Angeles Dodgers 2012 Stadium Giveaway Bobblehead. Just make your purchase of 4 items or more, then once your purchase is complete send us an email at info@BobblesGalore.com requesting the Dodger Infield bobblehead be added to your order (DO NOT ADD THE ITEM TO YOUR ORDER WHEN MAKING YOUR PURCHASE). No charge on the Dodgers Infield Bobble and no extra charge on shipping. Any questions regarding this promotion can be emailed to info@BobblesGalore.com

Dodger Fan Fest 2012

This past Sunday, the Dodgers held their very first Fan Fest at Dodger Stadium. It's something  Dodger fans have wanted for years. Well we finally got what we wanted, a full day of Dodger madness. There were about 45 former and current players scheduled to sign autographs, there were games for the kids, a wine tasting tent and a mini Dodger museum in the main tent, which was full of memorabilia.


Before I got there, I thought  this would be unorganized like every other Dodger event. As soon as I walked into Dodger Stadium I found out I was right. Getting into the event area was a bit of a pain in the ass, but once inside, we discovered that there were four lines to choose from and the players in them were random. You basically had to wait and hope you get someone you wanted. Things were easy at first because of the players that were signing early, but as the day progressed, the lines got very long and the weather got hot and as usual, the whole thing turned chaotic because people were standing around waiting. 


My goal for the day was to get Andre Ethier, Tommy Lasorda, Fernando Valezuela , Dee Gordon and Bill Russell all on their own baseballs. I didn't even come close to meeting that goal, only getting Gordon on ball. I did get to meet Tommy at the wine tasting tent, so it wasn't all bad. 

Vinny blessed us with his presence 

Me and Charlie Steiner 

Me and Tommy at the wine tasting tent

I know most of you like the autographs, so here's what I got:

Adam Kennedy

Justin Sellers

Ronald Belisario

AJ Ellis

Wes Parker

Here's Wes Parker's beautiful side-panel job. He wanted to sign the ball in Sharpie.

Dee! 

I wanted to get Dee on ROMLB. 

Elian Herrera signing my team ball

Jamey Wright

Todd Coffey

Herrera & Coffey

Loney & Guerra

Elbert & Wright 

Honeycutt & Belisario

Here's how I feel about the Fan Fest. This was basically La Gran Fiesta with another name and  a few more players. I think this could've been better organized, giving everyone a chance to meet some of the bigger names. It was all too random and that's not fair to everyone. The other thing was the heat. It's too damn hot outside in the stadium parking lot. They need to hold the event in the convention center, let people pay to get in, and have them get tickets for the players they want. Also, it's time for some different veteran Dodgers to make an appearance. I love all former Dodgers, but honestly, how many times can they schlep the same old timers out there? 

Changes Made To Upcoming AJ Ellis Appearance

There have been a couple of changes made to the upcoming AJ Ellis appearance on June 16. From MVP Trading Card Company: 


The Dodgers A.J. Ellis in store signing will be moved to the Woodland
Hills Westfield Promenade Shopping Mall inside the All Star Collectibles
store. The Promenade Mall is located at 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd. All Star Collectibles is located on the second floor. (818)710-0513

Also, 2 Autograph tickets for $40.00 will be available to the first 50 customers
that pay in advance.


For more information, contact Derek at sales@mvptradingcards.com or call (818)518-0989

Orel Hershiser Bobblehead Night

We're already five days removed from the Orel Hershiser bobblehead night, so before any more time goes by, let's get to the Bulldog.


On Tuesday, May 15, the Dodgers gave away Orel Hershiser bobbleheads. Presented by Coca-Cola, this bobblehead was scheduled to be given to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. The stadium was pretty empty that night, and I highly doubt there were 50,000 people. Not really sure why there were so few people, but I would assume it's because the Lakers were playing or maybe it's hard for a lot of the newer fans to care about a Dodger hero from 24 years ago. Who knows? All I know is I was happy to get my hands on this one.

What really stands out on this bobblehead is the look on Orel's face. That's the classic Bulldog stare. I think this could be one of the best Dodger bobbles ever. It's definitely in my top five. They did such a good job on this one, even Vin Scully commented a few times on how good this looked.


Up next, The Great Infield.

Player Appearance: Steve Garvey

Dodger legend Steve Garvey made an appearance today at the Walmart in Porter Ranch from 3:30 to 4:30. This event, which was sponsored by Topps, flew under the radar. I hadn't heard anything about it until late last night when Topps posted it on their Facebook page. 


The Walmart in Porter Ranch is just a few minutes from my office, so Tom and I went down there on our lunch break. When we arrived at 3:00 there were only a few people there. We saw Garvey and some Topps reps talking so we figured the signing would start on time. 


At exactly 3:30 Garv sat down and started signing. There were only about 15 people there at the time, so we chit-chatted with him a little and got multiple autographs. I got four pictures signed, including two different 8x10's that Topps provided. I saw one lady there get at least ten things signed. It was one of the easiest autograph I've ever gotten. 

Thanks to Steve Garvey, Toppps and the Porter Ranch Walmart for hosting such a smooth event. It's nice having a Dodger signing in the San Fernando Valley, sometimes I feel like we're the forgotten fans. Big shoutout to Larry, Big Mike and Derek! Nice seeing you guys today.