Dodgers Poll: Giveaways

The Dodgers have a new poll up today. They want to know which giveaway items you would come to a game for. Click below to take the poll.

Of course, I chose the mini bobblehead. There can never be enough bobbleheads in the collection. So, what giveaways would you like to see at Dodger Stadium?

Bobblehead of the Day: Don Newcombe

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55 years ago Sunday, Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher Don Newcombe won his 20th game on the season. It was the second time he had done this in his career. That day, he also hit his seventh homerun of the year, which broke the NL record for homeruns in a season by a pitcher.

Newk went on to set career highs in average (.359), hits (42) and RBI (23) while finishing the 1955 season with a 20-5 record and 3.20 ERA. He remains the only player in franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards.

Don Newcombe is currently a special adviser to chairman Frank McCourt. You can read his bio here.

On this anniversary of Newcombe's special day, we'll take a look at his 2004 SGA bobblehead. On Friday, July 23, 2004, the Dodgers gave away Don Newcombe bobbleheads to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. Presented by ATA Airlines, the bobblehead was made by P Squared Promotions.  This was the second of three bobbleheads given away in 2004. The other two were Eric Gagne(4/30) and Don Drysdale(8/20).

The Dodgers played the San Diego Padres that night, winning 3-2. Jose Lima started for LA, Brian Lawrence for San Diego.  Akinori Otsuka blew the save for San Diego, Rod Beck took the loss and Eric Gagne got the win.

Here Newk's bobblehead:

This is another one of my favorites. I love the Brooklyn Dodgers hat, I think it's my favorite part of the bobblehead. I've heard some stories about the Dodgers wanting the bobble to have an LA hat on, but Newcombe wanted Brooklyn, or he wouldn't approve. If anyone can confirm this story, let me know.

Admiral Ackbar Is My Homeboy

I was watching "First Take" on ESPN this morning when I saw Admiral Ackbar, of Star Wars fame, in a commercial. I had to go back and watch it again. It was hilarious.

Why was he in a commercial? If you don't remember, the Ole Miss Rebels were looking for a new on field masot, and one of the choices was Admiral Ackbar. He wasn't chosen, but the memory of this campaign lives on through a very funny ESPN commercial.

Dodgers News And Notes

Another Dodger loss. The offense was non-existent again. At this point, does it really matter? Time to start thinking about 2011.

Speaking of 2011, could Tim Wallach, manager of the Dodgers' AAA afiliate Albuquerque Isotopes, be the Dodgers' manager next year? According to Baseball America, Wallach is the Pacific Coast League's best managerial prospect.

After 16 years in the minors, John Lindsey has finally made it to the majors. The Isotopes first baseman was called up today along with third baseman Russ Mitchell, who is also making his major league debut, Chin Lung Hu, and pitchers Jon Link and John Ely.

So who pitches batting practice for the Dodgers? Pete Bonfils is his name, and he's been doing it for almost 30 years. Who knew?

Have the Dodgers trademarked the phrase "Los Doyers"? After spotting Los Doyers shirts in the Dodger Team Store, Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy asked that same question. He found out that they had trademarked the phrase on August 18.

2010 Bobblehead Study

Flip Flop Flyball, the site that gives us all the baseball infographics, has analyzed the major league bobblehead giveaways of 2010. They breakdown who gave away what, when, and against whom. The chart shows which bobbleheads were current players, former players or someone other than a baseball player.

So, which teams gave away the most bobbleheads in 2010?  The Astros were first with NINE. Yes, nine bobblehead giveaways in Houston this year. Two current players and seven former players, which probably says something about the current Astros. Next on the list were the Milwaukee Brewers, with seven bobble giveaways.

Which teams gave away the least? The Braves, Rockies, Red Sox and Yankees gave away NO bobbleheads this year. Giving away a bobblehead is great way to get fans to the ballpark. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox don't really need do anything like that to get people to show up. What's up with the Braves and Rox? The Blue Jays, Mets, Pirates, Twins and Rangers all had one bobblehead giveaway this year.

Some additional information: Apart from the age-specific giveaways, like Peanuts characters to fans 18 and under, the Brewers, Indians, Angels, Phillies and Pirates gave away bobbleheads to all fans in attendance.  The Dodgers gave away the most bobbleheads, 50,000 to the first fans in attendance.

It seems like bobblehead are still a very popular giveaway. 16 of the 30 teams gave away at least three bobbleheads, with another five teams giving away two in 2010. I think it's safe to say bobbleheads will be just as popular in 2011.

2009 Topps Manny Ramirez Still On Ventura

Manny Ramirez has been in Chicago since Monday, but his giant 2009 Topps banner is still on Ventura Blvd in Encino. The banner, which is on the side of a medical building, has been up since 2009.

It's a sad reminder that the "Mannywood" era is over. I wonder how long it will stay up.

My Son's First Pack Of Allen & Ginter

I bought my 8 year-old son Kevin his first pack of 2010 Allen & Ginter today. Actually, I bought him three packs.  I've been slowly getting him into the hobby over the last year or so. We've been having  a lot of fun.  He's only 8, so I don't want to get too many expensive cards for him. I want him to just get a feel for the hobby first. So I've been giving him cards from my collection a little bit at a time.

Anyways, we went to the local card shop and bought the A&G packs, got home and had fun. I was hoping we would pull some Dodgers. Well, he opened his first pack and right on top was Manny Ramirez. Nice. That was actually the only Dodger he pulled, but he was happy. What else did he pull in pack #1?   Torri Hunter, Brett Gardner, Jesus Flores, Kevin Youklis mini,  Brian Roberts This Day In History.

Pack #2: Jesus Flores, Martin Prado, Mariano Rivera, Ichiro, Daniel Murphy mini, Pablo Sandoval TDIH

Pack#3: Brandon Allen, Carlos Lee, Grady Sizemore, Kendry Morales, Ian Stewart mini, Aramis Ramirez TDIH.

Not bad, although I wish we could have pulled more Dodgers. I can't wait to pick up some more packs for him.