Earlier this year I wrote a blog post previewing the 2015
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum series of bobbleheads. They gave away
five different nodders on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from April to August
and all were of a member of the 1990 World Series Championship Cincinnati Reds
team. In this post, I will share my thoughts on every bobblehead I received
from the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
The first bobblehead I got from the Reds Hall of Fame and
Museum was of former first baseman Todd Benzinger. I thought this was an
awesome looking bobblehead and a great way to start of the series as Benzinger
had never been immortalized as a bobblehead. The pose they chose was also
topnotch. It features Benzinger making the final out in the fourth game of the
World Series to both end the game and give the Reds their fifth World Series
title in franchise history.
The second bobblehead was of Joe Oliver. He was the popular
catcher on the 1990 team whose clutch hitting scored Billy Bates in walk off
fashion in Game 2 to put the Reds ahead two games to none over the Athletics.
In fact, that moment is what the bobblehead was based on and in my opinion,
they mirrored that moment almost perfectly.
The third bobblehead of the series was of Billy Hatcher. He
was one of the most popular outfielders on the 1990 team and also serves as the
current first base coach for the Reds. Hatcher being featured as a bobblehead
was a no-brainer because of his record setting performance in the series as he
had a batting average of .750. I’m shocked that he hadn’t been featured as a
bobblehead sooner because he is just as popular today if not more than he was
in 1990 with members of Reds Country. They did a nice job with this nodder, and
it is my personal favorite of the bunch.
The fifth bobblehead was of Ohio native and former Reds
outfielder Paul O’Neill. This was the last bobblehead the Reds Hall of Fame and
Museum gave away, and they picked an excellent player to immortalize as a
nodder. Even though he might be more famous as a Yankee than a Red, he will
always be considered a member of the Redlegs to me and to other members of Reds
Country. This bobblehead looks great and was a fantastic way to end the series.
It was also flying out of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum as its release was
on the same day as the Devin Mesoraco bobblehead game and virtually every fan
who attended the game hit the hall before going to the game. That’s what I did,
and at the end of the night, I left the game with both the O’Neill bobblehead
and the Mesoraco bobblehead.
You probably noticed that I did not pick up the fourth
bobblehead in the series. It was of Tom Browning, one of the pitchers on the
team. The reason I did not go and pick up this one was because I have a
Cincinnati Reds Tom Browning bobblehead that the team gave away in 2008, and I
usually only collect one bobblehead of a player per team.
In conclusion, the 2015 series of Cincinnati Reds Hall of
Fame and Museum bobbleheads were great and the best series of nodders that they
have done to date. My only gripe with the series is Browning being featured as
I thought that should have gone with somebody else other than him as he has
already been featured as a Reds bobblehead. I think Jose Rijo, Glenn Braggs,
and Lou Pinella would have been great choices. Hopefully the Reds or the Reds
Hall of Fame and Museum make bobbleheads of these guys in the future. If you
were not able to get your hands on any of these bobbleheads, then eBay is your
best bet to find them. All fans of the Reds need these bobbleheads in their
collection as they celebrate the only wire-to-wire team in the history of the
Cincinnati Reds.
Make sure you check out the unboxing videos for these bobbleheads by clicking here!
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