Bobblehead News: California League

With my Dodgers giving away the final bobblehead of the year last week, and the Angels doing the same this week, it's time to look to the local minor league teams for bobbleheads. Here's a little bobblehead news from the California league.

Felix Hernandez bobblehead pushed back. The Inland Empire 66ers have pushed back the Felix Hernandez bobblehead giveaway, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, August 20. The team has replaced the bobbleheads with Anaheim Angels newsboy hats. A date for the Hernandez bobblehead hasn't been determined yet. For questions regarding the promotion change, call Kevin Shaw at (909)495-7623. Thanks to Eddie for the tip.

Ken Griffey Sr. gets bobblehead. The Bakersfield Blaze, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, will be giving away bobbleheads of their manager, Ken Griffey Sr. The first 500 fans attending the game on Friday, August 19 will receive the bobblehead of the former Reds great. 

Rawhide honor 65 years of baseball in Visalia, and Kirby Puckett too.  The Visalia Rawhide, Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, are celebrating 65 years of baseball by giving away four different bobbleheads of their mascot, Tipper the cow. Each bobblehead has Tipper wearing clothing from different eras, starting with the 50's themed Tipper, which was given away on July 31, 60's Tipper on August 7, 70's Tipper on August 14 and the final 1980's Tipper which will be given away on August 28.


And, on August 24, the team will be honoring Kirby Puckett with a bobblehead as well. Puckett, the city's most famous former player, played for the Visalia Oaks in 1983. This bobblehead will be given to the first 500 fans in attendance.

Apollo 13 astronaut honored last Saturday. Fred Haise, one of the the astronauts from the Apollo 13 mission, was honored on Saturday, August 13 by the Lancaster JetHawks with a bobblehead. The bobble, which depicts Haise coming out of the Apollo 13 capsule, was given to the first 1,200 fans in attendance as part of the Aerospace Appreciation Weekend.

Bobblehead News

We're a little more than half-way through the baseball season and there have been some great bobblehead giveaways so far. Usually, I  talk bobblehead news once a month, but July's been one of the better months. So, here's some more  news from the bobblehead world:

Twins honor 1991 World Series Champs. The Minnesota Twins will be selling a 20th anniversary set commemorating the 1991 World Series Championship team. The set will include all 25 players and manager Tom Kelly. 1,000 sets will go on sale Monday, July 18 at 9am. They will be sold for $391 and all proceeds will go to the Minnesota Twins Community Fund.

Hammer Time. The MC Hammer bobblehead, which I've mentioned in the past, will be given away by the Oakland Athletics to the first 15,000 fans in attendance today.Before he was known as Hammer, Stanley Burrell worked in the A's clubhouse from 1973 to 1980.

116-win Seattle team honored. This past Friday, the Seattle Mariners celebrated 2001's 116-win team by giving away Mike Cameron/Mark McLemore bobbleheads to the first 20,000 fans in attendance. The bobblehead depicts the two players holding an American flag together.

King Felix gets a Cy Young Bobble.  OK, this isn't a July promotion, it's an August promotion, but the pictures were finally released this month. The Inland Empire 66ers will be giving away Felix Hernandez Cy Young  bobbleheads on August 20. Hernandez played for the 66ers in 2004.

And in some non-sports bobblehead news...


Clarence Thomas gets a bobblehead. Justice Clarence Thomas is the latest Supreme Court Judge to be honored with a bobblehead. Created and distributed by Green Bag, a quarterly law review, this bobblehead has Thomas holding an American flag and standing on two pizza boxes.  And no, there isn't a coke can with a pubic hair on it. The bobbleheads will not be for sale, and will only be made available to Green Bag subscribers. Here's a breakdown of the Thomas bobblehead:

You can see the rest of the Supreme Court Justice bobblehead collection here.