Bobblehead of the Day - Corey Seager Oklahoma City Version (#/2000)

Look at what I went and acquired. Yup, it's a bobblehead and even though I swore to myself that I would not collect these again I could not escape the itch to own this and another one. More on that tomorrow. (edit: the Kershaw one from Friday was what I was alluding to)

I got out of the bobblehead game a couple years ago and was content and happy with my decision but when I saw a particular one (Friday's post) I had to snag that it and decided to get this one as well for the purpose of hopefully having Corey sign it and hopefully in short time if all plans work as I hope they will.

With the intention of getting a bobble signed by the young star I wanted one that was not your "typical" one and this OKC one fits that description to a "T". The Seager one given away at Dodger Stadium is nice and all but does not have a good base for Corey to sign. Also the production run on that one is 50K. That is a lot of bobbles. Well I remembered that Oklahoma City distributed a limited edition one and found out it only had a production run of just 2000 even though were not individually numbered. On top of that the actual bobble stands atop a great base for an autograph. Decision was made and off I went looking for one and snagged this for a deal. Now the plan is to hopefully have Seager attend DodgerFest this year (obviously didn't happen) and if so have him sign it at that time. If not I might be heading out to Arizona and will try there. Either way the reason I snagged this is because of the itch I had to scratch for Kershaw bobble.

Corey's backside

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Bobblehead of the Day - Clayton Kershaw 2016 MVP/Cy Young Awards Signed Bobblehead (#/22)

As many of you know I set out to own 100 autographs of Clayton and I have climbed over the 70 barrier and this is one of the few that are not on a Topps licensed card. I got out of the bobble game awhile ago and had no intention of ever getting back into it but then my friend Greg of Plaschkethysweaterisargyle fame showed off his signed bobble of Mr. Kershaw and I instantly got jealous and decided I wanted one to call my own. Problem was is that Greg was lucky enough to get his in person and I have zero luck in meeting Clayton face to face so I knew that would be an almost impossibility of happening for me. Now here is where the fun comes in and stubbornness from a seller landed me this for a lot less than I know the seller wanted to let it go for.

A local card shop has a contract with Clayton and had him sign various bobbles for them to sell but I knew this was the one I really wanted as it shows Clayton with the MVP and Cy Young awards he won in 2015. A rare feat for a pitcher and something that might not happen again for a generation. The seller had another one of these on a traditional auction on eBay and I ended up losing out on it as the selling price exceeded my set ceiling. Though I had more than enough funds from sales I didn't want to pay over a certain amount. After the sale I contacted the seller as he had other copies of this same bobble on BIN OBO auctions and I stated the previous price of an auction (months prior to me wanting one) that it sold for but he rebuffed me with the statement that he couldn't let one go again for that low amount. Oh well. Couple weeks passed and he put this one up on another traditional auction. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. To keep the story short I ended up winning this not only for less than the 1st one I lost out on BUT also less than the other one sold for months ago at the price I was willing to pay. A lot less too. Stubborn eBayer seller lost out on some moola. His loss is my gain.

So with the Seager and Kershaw bobblehead acquisitions will I be collecting bobbles full time once again? No. I had an itch for this one and picked up Seager just because but I do not foresee me acquiring any more bobbles anytime soon but I do cherish these two.

Another beautiful autograph for the Kershaw collection.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

2015 Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead

Today is national bobblehead day and the Dodgers just announced/showed off their 1st of a planned 10 bobbleheads for the 2015 baseball season. Could there be any other choice than the reigning NL MVP and 3x CY Young winner Clayton? Nope !

I stopped collecting bobbleheads early last year BUT I just "might" have to get my hands on this one. The likeness of bobbleheads are getting better and better each year and this one looks just like Mr. MVP. The reason I might acquire is due to the two awards that he is leaning on. From the picture they look like its one piece which would be perfect for him to sign.

That was always one problem with bobbles as I wanted to get them signed but other than the helmet/cap there is not much of an area on them that is perfect for an autograph. If the player had a long or sloppy signature then the helmet was always a hit or miss and underneath the base of the figure is not a prime location for an autograph. This one though might work. Can't wait to see it in person.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Attended Game Recap - Marlins 1 @ DODGERS 7 on May 13th, 2014

It's been awhile since the wife and I have been to Dodger Stadium and it was about time to head back. It was Yasiel Puig bobblehead night and I have been looking forward to the game for a couple of weeks. The Dodgers haven't had the best of luck on the bobble nights that we have attended in person but thankfully that was not the case last night.

Derrell Thomas and Mickey Hatcher were scheduled to sign for fans up till 7ish. Once again it took us a hour and half to reach the entrance of the stadium from our house in the South Bay area. Sigh. I expected both players to be long gone as it was now 7:05 but surprising Mickey was still at his table and we jumped in line hoping he would continue to sign. Mickey ended up signing for everyone and was a class act as always. I didn't have a photo of him so I asked him to sign my generic Dodger Stadium photo and he happened to be the first autograph on it. Kind of odd that he made his signature so small in the left field area. Don't know why but thank you for signing Mickey.

My normal jersey was dirty so I had to bust out my Kemp one for the game.

Mickey about to sign.

The finished product

Since everyone else was asking for a picture with the Mick I decided to just follow suit and ask for one myself. He was more than happy to do so. Thank you again for the photo and autograph.

Hatcher and I

Time to watch a ball game.

After buying some Italian food we headed up to our seats and saw 5 innings of shut out ball. Thankfully the game was moving at a brisk pace and considering Beckett was on the mound that is a shock. I was thinking the game would end up in the hands of the bullpen and we would suffer through another bobble night loss. Thankfully the 6th inning happened and the Dodgers put up 5 runs. They weren't done and ended up tacking on two more by the end of the game for the final score of 7-1 for the good guys.

It was nice to see the continued improvement of Matt Kemp as he had two more hits and continues to raise his batting average on a nightly basis. Puig hit a booming double to drive in a run but more impressively was the out he didn't get as he caught a sacrifice fly in deep right field and almost threw out the runner at home. He drew a well deserved round of applause. 

Even Hanley did this...

Picture taken a few seconds prior to his hit to drive in a couple of runs. I see you Hanley.

Right before we left the wife noticed something watching us from the right side. 

The Tommy bobble bobbling away in between the pavilion and the loge levels. Kind of creepy with his odd smile. Ha Ha.

A great time at the Stadium as we got to witness a Dodger win, picked up another autograph for the collection and had another great time together. Go Blue !!!

Puig in a box

Puig encased in plastic

First Look at Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella Bobblehead

This upcoming July 12th when the Dodgers host the Padres they will be giving away this great looking bobblehead. The pictures have just been released and this is one fine looking figure.

The bobbles just get better and better in detail and quality. If I was still into collecting these this one would be one of my favorites. Too bad both these great men have passed away as it would have been nice to have them present when this is released.

Hyun-Jin Ryu Bobblehead

I'm sure most of you have seen this upcoming bobble of our favorite Korean pitcher Ryu but I thought I would show it here just in case you haven't.

If I was still in the bobblehead game I would be acquiring it and tracking down Ryu for him to autograph it. With that said I won't be attending this game as I already sold the tickets for a nice profit.

The bobble is scheduled to be given out on Tuesday May 27th when the Dodgers host the Reds. Next year I want to see one of Ryu as a batter as he is quite good with the lumber.

#Ryuth

2014 Clayton Kershaw "Cy Young" Bobblehead Preview

Season is still a little more than 2 months away and the game which this bobble will be given out is more than 3 months away but like everyone else I am excited for the 2014 season to begin so anything newly released pertaining to the Dodgers is news.

The team released a preview of Clayton's new bobble and while the base to me looks a little odd shaped I do love the Cy Young awards that bookend his leg.

Great looking first bobble of the scheduled ten ( eleven if you count the Hello Kitty one ) for 2014.

New Hideo Nomo Bobblehead

The Dodgers have released a picture of the upcoming Hideo Nomo Bobblehead that is being released on August 10th when they host the Tampa Bay Rays on a Saturday day game. Looks great as it captures him in his classic "tornado" pose. I look forward to picking this one up. Also it has been reported that Hideo himself will be in the house. Haven't seem him around these parts in years and he will get a well deserved standing ovation. Go Blue.

Bobblehead of the Day : Matt Kemp ( Home Run Follow Through )

Last night at Dodger Stadium it was Matt Kemp Bobblehead Night. I wasn't able to go to the game but had my buddy go in my place and had him pick up this year's version of Matt Kemp. This is the third version we now have of Matt and for me even though it is a great looking bobble it is my least favorite but with saying that I still love this one.

Each year the details keep getting better and better. The classic pose of the follow through of what looks to be a home run swing is spot on. Too bad we have only been witness to one of those this year. Still believe that the surgery is hindering his power. He started 0-11 but now has his average near .280. It's getting there.



I love how they get all the details into the bobble including his pine tar mark on his left shoulder. The only thing I would have done is by making it darker like it is in real life. Either way though you have to love that don't forget even the smallest detail.

The face is remarkably life like to the man himself. Had a few girls at work already swooning and telling me how dreaming he looks even in miniature form. Ha Ha.

All in all this is a great looking bobble and will look great next to my other 2 Kemp bobbles. Now sometime this year I will get it signed so I will have all three matching with his autograph. Great job Dodgers.

Bobblehead of the Day : Hanley " I See You " Ramirez

To close out the first month of the 2013 baseball season the Dodgers gave out their first of a scheduled ten bobble heads for the year. Hanley Ramirez is the honored bobble of the night.

This is Hanley's first full year on the Dodgers and he game back in style last night. Although he had a pinch hit appearance the previous night for his first at bat of the year, last night was he real welcoming back party and he did it in style. Not quite like Manny Ramirez back in 2009 with his " Bobble Slam " Grand Slam but Hanley did get hit a solo home run and added a double. He is known for his " I See You " gesture that he has been doing since he got into town last year. It was announced earlier this year that his bobble head would depict that motion. I'm slowing down on the bobble heads and was only to get a few this year but Rick Monday saving the flag which is coming out in August and this one felt too unique to pass up.

I couldn't attend the game as I had to work late so I gave my tickets to my co-worker and she was kind enough to make sure to get the bobble to me. It is a great looking bobble and the Dodgers got the gesture down perfectly. I hope to get this signed in the coming year either at the stadium or if he still does the signing in July. Here are some pictures which hopefully will be updated in the future with that signature on the helmet.

Bobblehead of the Day : Matt Kemp ( Over The Wall Catch Gold Glove Variant )

We finally come to my current favorite bobblehead of my collection. The Dodgers gave away a "common" version of this bobblehead at the stadium back in 2010. A great looking bobble but there was a reoccurring problem with a lot of them. The wrist tended to break off a lot which makes Kemp look like a talented amputee. Before I started on the variants I actually bought this version and low and behold it came in damaged and hand less. A disappointment obviously. Well I found out about this gold variant version via other bloggers like DodgerBobble and Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle . Well the variant versions do not come cheap and are not for sale very often so I always had my eyes open. Obviously the place I thought I would acquire it promptly was eBay and there was one that was going for 150. Tad much for my taste but I decided to wait it out as this was the off season of 2011 and baseball products usually are cheaper at that time and we still had the stench of McCourt around so demand was lower. I bidded my time for almost three months and the seller dropped it to 120. Sold a few things myself and jumped on it and in the end out of pocket cost was nothing as I sold enough excess stuff to acquire the bobble at 120. Now I had to hope that the shipping would not damage the oft weak wrist of the bobble. Bobble arrived a few days later and was in perfect condition. Now I just had to wait for the 2012 season to get it autographed by the man himself.

Off to the stadium on a Saturday and Kemp had the usual crowd waiting for him but again I was right in front with no one I had to deal with getting over to get to Kemp. Now, the Fingers to Sky bobblehead has him batting so he has the batting helmet on which means no grooves but this one has him out on the field so he has a cap on which means grooves on the bobblehead. I have seen many people get this bobble signed on the wall part of it so as Kemp was walking by I was hoping he would do the same but he decided to sign on the cap. His signature hit the groove and "moved" a little but no biggie in my eyes. I just got my gold variant bobblehead which i paid nothing more out of pocket signed for free when his signature goes for 80 plus nowadays. So I am not going to complain about a little "slip" in the autograph. Well for the time being this is my favorite bobble but the Dodgers will be giving out another Kemp bobble this year and I for sure will be picking that one up and if there is a variant you know I'll be in line to pick it up.

Bobblehead of the Day : Matt Kemp ( Fingers to the Sky Autographed )

So we have come to the top two in my bobblehead collection. Though the collection is small they are ones that are harder to come by or can be autographed which is my main hobby anyways.

Like a lot of people Matt Kemp is my favorite baseball player on my favorite team. So it should come to no surprise that my top two bobbleheads are of the same player. I personally love this pose over his other bobblehead which is the over the fence catch but that overall is my favorite for another reason. This one shows Matt crossing home plate after hitting another of his many home runs. He scores a run for the team as he shows appreciation and points up to the sky.

Since autographs are my favorite hobby and the main reason I got into the bobblehead collecting business is that I wanted to get these autographed as well if at all possible. Matt for the most part is an easy if not always crowded signing. If you try to go to Living Spaces for a free auto, good luck unless you are there the previous day. You can always go to a paid signing but I try not to that if at possible. For this one I decided to head to the stadium and get him to sign it right before the game as he does his stretches over in left field. As always it gets overly crowded and the commotion can cause problems with impatient fans. Luckily for me I usually am right up front and don't have to deal with anyone in my way. As like most days he came over and gave us about 5 minutes of his time to sign and as always he was kind enough to sign my item, this bobblehead. To me it looks great and makes a great addition to my collection. Tomorrow.....my favorite bobblehead.

Bobblehead of the Day : Vin Scully ( Season Ticket Holder Limited Edition )

... well I started this series last year but I veered off a little and never got back to my last three I wanted to post about so I am back on it for the next three days.

Vin Scully has been asked year in and year out by the Dodgers to have a bobblehead made in his likeness but he always turned them down but in 2012 it finally changed. This was the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium and his words were I probably won't be around to celebrate the 100th so he finally allowed a bobblehead to be made. The standard edition was given out in August and unlike the Koufax special edition this one is almost identical to the stadium giveaway with one visual difference. There is a little baseball on the desk where Vin is sitting.

As with the Koufax special edition season ticket holders had to buy 2 or 4 tickets to a game in April or May to acquire one or both of the special editions. I chose to have both in my collection. Though Sandy's is visually more satisfying the Scully one harks back to one of the most famous moments in Dodger baseball. 1988 was the last year the Dodgers were in the World Series and Kirk Gibson delivered one of the most dramatic home runs in baseball history as he had no right to even be at the plate in the pivotal moment of the game. Vin described the scene perfectly and this bobble has the home run call on a sound chip. This is where the little baseball on the desk comes into play. By pressing down on it it plays about a minute of Vin's famous call of Kirk's home run. Still brings chills to the spine and at the same time it is bittersweet as the Dodgers haven't been back to the Fall Classic since then. It has been a long 25 years.

This is a great bobble to own and I love how it is numbered just like the Koufax one. Odds of me ever getting this signed are remote but even if I never accomplish that goal it still has Vinny's essence stored on it. We are nearing the end of the great Vin's career and hopefully with this team assembled he can call at least one more Dodger World Series win.

Bobblehead of the Day : Ron Cey ( Signed )

I've met the Penguin a few times now and up til this year I had everything I needed already from but now since I collect bobbleheads I know needed his signed. He technically has two as the infield was honored this year with their own set but I was never a fan of that one as it is very hard to get a decent signature on their helmets and I have heard from a few collectors that Ron hates signing those as he takes pride in his signature and he can't what he wants on their legibly. His first bobble is perfect though for signing. I have been getting most of my bobbles signed on the helmets as that is usually the only place you can have them sign. Ron's bobble though comes with him standing at the plate and knowing how Ron can shrink his signature I knew he could put it on the plate.

The Dodgers are holding a mall tour to promote season tickets and mini plans. This past Friday which was also Black Friday the Dodgers were in my neck of the woods at Del Amo Mall in Torrance. The Dodgers had three scheduled to appear and they were Ron Cey, "Sweet" Lou Johnson and Maury Wills. I had Maury's on enough stuff and I wanted Lou's ( which I did get on a bat ) but Ron was who I really wanted. Problem was I had to work and Ron was scheduled to appear from 11:30-1:30 which was a problem. I was able to get off work right before 1 but I still had to travel 15 miles to the mall and thought it would be impossible to find a parking spot and then get over to the signing area. I arrived to the Dodgers area at around 1:24 and luckily Ron was still there and surprisingly there was no one in line which I assume is because since he was there for almost two hours already everyone that was going to see him saw him. Walked up and said my greetings and even though he seem to be not in the best of moods he wished me a good day and signed the bobble right where I wanted. Looks great to me. Thank you again to the Dodgers for hosting another great event and thank you to Ron Cey for signing the bobblehead. Enjoy the pics.

Bobblehead of the Day : Andre Ethier ( Brooklyn Throwback / Signed )

Up next is a bobblehead that I won from one of the many contests that AngryAlbert runs during his trips to the city of sin, Las Vegas. Check out his blog for unfiltered commentary and said contests. This bobblehead of Andre was given out at Dodger Stadium back in 2011 when I wasn't collecting them at that time. One of my baseball buckets lists is to go to every park and catch a Dodger game and last year I got to go to Colorado and Washington. The trip out east was planned to see friends and go to New York City and of course catch the Boys in Blue. I thought earlier in the season that this series would be big for the two teams as they both would be trying to get into the playoffs. Sad to say the Dodgers were almost done at that time and you could read some of it with their body language. Nonetheless I was going to go and enjoy my time out there. I was only going to be in D.C. for a day and half so I bought tickets for the Tuesday the 18th game but it got rained out even though by game time there was no rain and none for the rest of the night. So I was given tickets for the next day which became a doubleheader but not the seats that I paid for originally because of some stupid rule but that is another rant for another day. Anyways, I headed down to the stadium for batting practice and was surprised that there were a lot of Dodger fans. Expected more in Colorado and there were minimal and expected less in D.C. but had a lot. Guess you never know. So I brought along the Ethier bobblehead in the hope that he would sign along the 3rd base side like he normally does and about 30 minutes prior to the game time he came towards the seats and started signing. I proceeded to walk over as I was finishing with a Kershaw signature which was also nice to acquire. Walked up to Ethier with bobblehead in hand and there were about 10 other people at the time trying to acquire a signature as well. What was funny/irritating was that he started signing everyone around me at occasionally would glance at me and my bobblehead like he didn't want to sign it. I figured he wasn't in the mood to sign figures and I was going to be out of luck but I stood patiently and started talking to him about his food blog and ASU days and I guess that helped and he finally took the bobblehead and signed on the brim of the cap. This is my first autograph on a bobble that was on the brim and I kind of prefer it there now but obviously you need to have a signature that would fit there as all are not as small as Ethier's can be. So mission accomplished. Saw a Dodger game in a different city, acquired an autograph and got a game ball which is another bucket list that I have going. Check the other post on that. Here are the pictures. Thank you again to Angry Albert and his contests and thank you to Andre for taking the time for signing for the fans.

Bobblehead of the Day : Sandy Koufax ( Season Ticket Holder Limited Edition )

On to the next bobblehead in my series of signed and/or variant bobbleheads. Of all the variants I have gotten so far this is my second favorite of them all for various reasons. For one, at this moment he is arguably the best pitcher the Dodgers have ever produced ( Kershaw should exceed him if he stays at his pace ) to this day. He played his entire career in the Dodger uniform and I always love seeing a player stick with the team that he came up with. This is a dying tradition that I sorely miss. After Chipper Jones retired this past year there are not many players signed long term into their mid to late thirties that should stick with their team to the end. Kemp is one but I can't think of another.

It was announced at the beginning of the year that Koufax would finally get his own bobblehead and Dodger Nation was more than ecstatic and ready to get their hands on it and I was part of the crowd. Release date was August 7th and I marked it on my calendar to attend the game. Now the bobblehead that finally came out was nothing really special but it was great to add to the collection. It shows him getting ready to throw the ball to the plate. A pose we have seen on other player's bobbles. Pictures below.

The Dodgers decided to reward a limited amount of season ticket holders ( first come first serve ) as they announced in April that if a person was to order one pair of Baseline All You Can Eat seats to one game you can pick a bobblehead of either Sandy Koufax or Vin Scully of if you bought two pairs you could have both. It was revealed that the Vin Scully bobblehead would be the same that they would release in August as being visually the same but with a button that would play his famous Kirk Gibson walk off home run from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. More on that bobble another day. The one I really wanted was the Sandy Koufax. We were informed that it would be a totally different pose than the SGA in August. First it would be numbered out of 1,955 which is a relatively small number. Second it would picture him with him standing with four balls in his hands representing his four no-hitters he tossed. It is a famous picture that all Dodger fans are well acquainted with. I've included the picture to show the reference. Well I decided to acquire these so I bought four tickets and resold them so there basically was no cost for me to acquire these two great variants. Finally got the bobbleheads in late July and this Koufax one is great. Not only does it show him in the picture pose with the four balls in his hands but it also has a locker next to him. The locker is a great place to get Mr. Koufax to sign if I am ever lucky enough to bump into him. He is very hard to catch in Spring Training and he doesn't do many public appearances anymore so this might be a long time coming if I am ever to get this signed. Signed or not this is a great looking variant bobblehead and unlike the Fernando blue base or Scully adding a button or some others this one is totally different from the SGA. A great item that I was lucky enough to add to my collection. Enjoy the pictures.