Bobblehead Of The Day: 2012 Matt Kemp Forever Collectibles

Congratulations to Matt Kemp for winning his third consecutive National League Player of the Week Award today. Matt won it in the last week of the 2011 season and in the first two weeks of the 2012 season, becoming the first player ever to win it three weeks in a row since MLB began giving it out in 1974. Last week the Bison batted .545, hit hour homeruns,  had a 1.182 slugging percentage, .615 on-base percentage, scored seven runs, had 12 hits and 8 RBI. Beast Mode is in full-effect! So, in honor of Matty's latest accomplishment, I'm gonna show his newest bobblehead.


Last month, Forever Collectibles released two new Dodger bobbleheads, Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw. Today we'll take a look at the Kemp. This bobble is 8 inches tall and sits upon a blue LA Dodgers base. Matt is in a very simple pose, holding a screw-in bat over his shoulder. I think the features are pretty accurate, although  the skin tone is a little light and the beard is is painted on poorly. Overall I think this is a very nice bobblehead. My favorite part has to be the helmet. It's very shiny and looks like a brand new MLB batting helmet. Under the base, each bobble is hand numbered to 2012. Mine is 34 of 2012.


Let's take a look at the Bison:

I got my Matt Kemp Forever Collectibles bobblehead from Bobbles Galore. Currently, this Kemp bobble is out of stock, but keep checking in, they may have more very soon.

Skinnyswag With The Game Winner! Plus, A Couple More Autos

Dee Gordon had a walk-off basehit in yesterday's Dodger game and I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to see him do something positive. Skinnyswag hasn't been off to the best start in 2012. Frankly, Dee's  looked a lot like Juan Pierre so far this season, hitting a lot of weak pop ups to the outfield. But I'm not worried at all, I know it's early and from what I can tell, he's been showing more discipline at the plate. He did add two more steals yesterday, scored a run and got two hits including the game-winner. 

Anyway, I've been busy with my Dee Gordon PC over the last few weeks, adding a few more autos including these two from Donruss Elite. The first is a 2010 Extra Edition /310. Dee looks like he just cracked one of his three homeruns in this picture. Yes, Dee hit 3 HRs in Single-A!  I gotta tell you though, I hate the red trimming with the Dodger blue uni. It hurts my eyes.

Next up is a 2010 Private Signings /100. This a cool looking card, with the signature on the sweet spot of a ball. Although when you touch the material, it's a very soft leather or something similar.

First Look: The Infield Bobblehead

Via Dodgers April 10-15 Playbill

For those of you who made it out to Dodger Stadium this week, you probably were given the first playbill of the year, which has a beautiful black and white picture of the '62 team holding their hats over their hearts on the cover. 


I rarely read the playbill, in fact, when I get it at the front gate I usually toss it in my back seat and don't think twice about it. I had three hours to kill before the game started on Opening Day, so I actually skimmed through it. What caught my eye was on page 3, a picture of the first three bobbleheads the Dodgers are giving away this year. Of course we've already seen the Drysdale/Wills bobble, but this was the first time the Dodgers showed pics of the Orel Hershiser bobblehead and the infield bobblehead of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey.


It's a low-res picture, but from what I can tell they did a pretty good job on all of them. Check out Davey Lopes' little afro!  I know the Orel Hershiser is a full-size bobblehead, but I'm not sure about the infield. Either way, I'm very excited about all ten bobbleheads the Dodgers are giving away this season. Don't forget, that first giveaway is in two weeks!

Dodger Stadium Home Opener Pics

Once again, Opening Day at Dodger Stadium was amazing. I got there right when the gates opened at 10:00 and stayed for six hours. Everything seemed to be perfect, the sun was out, the fans showed up and the Dodgers won. Here are some pics.

The new 50th anniversary logo

Ron Cey signing a ball for me.

Here's the Penguin's auto

Tommy!

The US Army

Tommy Hawkins

Peter O'Malley signing for me

O'Malley

The Beach Boys singing the National Anthem

It was nice being back at Dodger Stadium. I had a great time with the wife and it was also very nice seeing all my Dodger friends, Dutch Dodger, Jesse, Albert, Scott and everyone else. 

Bobbles Galore And Forever Collectibles To Produce New Dodger Dog Bobbles

We're just 16 hours from the home opener at Dodger Stadium and I can't begin to tell you how anxious I am to take in the first home game of the year. One of my traditions, and I'm sure the tradition of most Dodger fans, is to eat that first Dodger Dog of the year. For me, it's a grilled dog with ketchup, deli mustard and onions. Just writing this is making my mouth water. 


Earlier today the Dodgers announced the addition of four new Extreme Loaded Dodger Dogs to the menu: The Heater, Frito Pie, Big Kid and the Tailgate Dog. Check them out here. Well, here at Dodgerbobble.com, we have our own Dodger Dog announcement to make. Bobbles Galore has commissioned a new Dodger Dog bobble which is being produced by Forever Collectibles.


Here's the announcement from Bobbles Galore:

Whether you are a native of Los Angeles and have grown up with many opportunities to indulge in a Dodger Dog or if you are from another part of the country and have had the privilege of consuming aLegendary Dodger Dog you will never forget how cool and tasty it is to devour that extra long hot dog, loaded with onions, relish, mustard and the like.

The Dodgers do not have an official mascot but I would venture to say that many Dodgers fans consider the Dodger Dog our unofficial mascot. Back in 2002 the Dodgers produced a limited edition Dodger Dog bobble that was sold exclusively at Dodger Stadium. The production numbers of how many were actually produced are not known but consensus amongst collectors is that there were roughly about 5,000 pieces produced and sold. Today that bobble is highly sought after by both bobblehead collectors and Dodgers fans alike. Unfortunately for most fans, if you are lucky enough to find one available, that bobble sells on the collector market upwards of $150.00 to $200.00.

With Dodger fans and collectors in mind BobblesGalore.com has commissioned a Limited Edition production run of 300 Dodger Dog bobbles . Produced by Forever Collectibles, this bobble will feature the world famous Dodgers Dog strutting his stuff and bobbling his arms. Produced in VERY LIMITED quantities and with each and everyone individually serial numbered these will be highly sought after and should sell out quickly (There is a strict limit of 6 pieces per order).

Pre-order yours now at BobblesGalore.com while supplies last. The tentative delivery time frames upplied to us by the manufacturer is June 2012 but that can vary due to any customs or shipping delays.

If you're interested in pre-ordering the Dodger Dog bobble, you can click here or the picture in my sidebar.

Pictures From Opening Day

I made the trip down to San Diego on Thursday to see the Dodgers play the Padres on Opening Day. I went with Angry Albert and we met up with Spiegel and two other die hard Dodger fans, Mike & Mike who were staying in SD for the night. 


When we got to the Gaslamp District, we noticed a lot of Dodger fans on the streets. I had never been to a game at Petco before, but I heard there was always large presence of  Dodger fans at the games. Let me tell you, this almost felt like a Dodger home game. Walking around Petco, we saw so many Dodger fans. We never felt uncomfortable, even the Padres fans were very respectful. 


I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was enjoying every minutes of Opening Day and I just forgot to take the camera out of my pocket. Here are a couple of shots I did take though.

Spiegel stayed in SD. Here's the view from his hotel room.

The Fox broadcast in front of Tony Gwynn's statue

The view from our seats

Opening Day starter Clayton Kershaw about to warm up

As you can see, the I had a bit of an obstructed view, so I didn't see Matt Kemp's homerun go over the wall. The architect of this stadium should be shot!

Closer Javy Guerra warming up in the 'pen.

My boy Dee on the jumbotron

There I am!

If you love the National Anthem like I do, check out the flag ceremony. The Herrier jets that fly over the stadium at the end were awesome!

                      

I had a great time on Thursday, especially since the Dodgers won. I need to thank Spiegel and Mike C for hooking me up with the tickets, I really appreciate it.  I can't wait to go to Petco again!

An Izturis Bat From The Lost Card File

I recently made a trade with Nicholas from The Lost Card File.  He had a mentioned in a post that he was trying to collect all the parallels from 2011 Topps Lineage. I had busted quite a bit of Lineage and  had seven cards he needed. After looking through his trade bait, I found a Cesar Izturis bat card I really liked.  Izzy was one of my favorite Dodger shortstops. He was like a baseball vacuum cleaner, nothing got by him. Anyway, Nicholas sent the Izturis my way along with a Sean Rodriguez auto. I want to thank him for the trade, and don't forget to check out The Lost Card File.