2014 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Barry Larkin Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2014 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Barry Larkin bobblehead. 

2014 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Sparky Anderson Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2014 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Sparky Anderson bobblehead. 

150th Anniversary Ernie Lombardi Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds 150th anniversary Ernie Lombardi bobblehead. 

The 2019 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Are...

With the Cincinnati Reds celebrating their 150th anniversary season this year, the team has announced that they will be giving away seven bobbleheads that represent different eras of Reds baseball. Six of these bobbleheads are of Redlegs legends who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. So who is being featured as a bobblehead this year? Let's take a look. 

The first bobblehead that will be given out is a 150th anniversary Mr. Redlegs bobble. This will be given out on May 4 against the San Francisco Giants. This is the bobblehead game I am looking forward to the most as Mr. Redlegs is a timeless mascot who is synonymous with the team, and it makes perfect sense that the franchise wants to incorporate him into their 150th anniversary season celebration. 

The second bobblehead of the season is of Ernie Lombardi. This will be given out to fans when the Redlegs host the Dodgers on May 18. While this is the first time the Reds team is giving out a bobblehead of Lombardi, it is actually the second year in a row in which fans can attain a bobble of the legendary player as the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out a Lombardi bobblehead last season. 

Third on the list of Reds 2019 bobblehead giveaways is Joe Morgan. This bobblehead will be given out when the Washington Nationals come to town on June 1. Considered to be one of the greatest if not the greatest second baseman of all time, it is a little shocking that this is only the second Morgan bobblehead the team has ever given out to fans with the first being distributed in 2004. The Reds Hall of Fame gave out a mini bobblehead of Morgan in 2012. I would expect a big crowd for this game as Morgan is a heavy fan favorite in Cincinnati. 

On June 15 against the Texas Rangers, the Reds will give out a bobblehead of local legend and National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. The Reds have previously given out Larkin bobbles three times and the Reds Hall of Fame gave out a bobblehead of Larkin in 2014. The crowd for this game should be large too as Larkin played his entire career with his hometown Redlegs and is a huge fan favorite.

Tony Perez will have his bobblehead given out on July 27 when the Reds play the Colorado Rockies. The Reds gave out a single bobblehead of Perez in 2005, and he was featured as part of a triple bobblehead alongside Sean Casey and Joey Votto in 2017. Considering how scarce Perez bubbleheads are, this could be the hottest giveaway of the season.

On August 17, the Reds will give out a bobblehead of Johnny Bench when the St. Louis Cardinals come to town. I believe that Bench is the player to be featured the most as a bobblehead by both the Reds and the Reds Hall of Fame. Despite that fact, the Big Red Machine is held in high regard in Cincinnati and a bobblehead of Bench is sure to garner a big crowd.

The last bobblehead the Reds will give out in 2018 will be on September 7 when the Reds take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, This bobblehead will feature Ken Griffey Jr. who is not only a popular player in Reds Country but in all of Major League Baseball. The Reds have previously given out bobbles of Griffey Jr. three times with the most recent bobble having been given out in 2016. With Griffey Jr. being inducted into the Hall of Fame a few years ago, this bobblehead could rival the Perez one as most sought after stadium giveaway item for 2019.

Those are the bobbleheads the Reds will give to fans in 2019. All the featured players have already been immortalized as bobbleheads by either the Reds, the Reds Hall of Fame, or both. All of the bobbleheads except for Mr. Redlegs are being given out as two sets of three with each set representing three different eras of Reds history. These eras include the Crosley Field era, the Riverfront Stadium era and the Great American Ball Park era. A cool feature of these sets is that when they are put together, the backdrops will form the 150^thanniversary logo of the Reds.

While I am excited to add these 150^thanniversary bobbleheads to my collection, I am bummed that no current players are being featured. I would have loved to add bobbleheads of Jesse Winker, Amir Garrett, Jose Peraza, and Luis Castillo among others to my collection. The bobblehead I am looking forward to obtaining the most this season is Mr. Redlegs. He is a great mascot, and I love adding different Mr. Redlegs bobblehead variants to my collection. In conclusion, the lineup of Reds legends will make for a highly desirable series of bobbleheads that will make Reds fans happy.

1/29/19 Update:
Today the Cincinnati Reds announced that they will be giving out a bobblehead of newly acquired outfielder Yasiel Puig. Aside from the Mr. Redlegs bobblehead, the Puig bobble is the one I am looking forward to the most. Puig came to the Reds via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is one of the most popular players in baseball and considering how the Reds currently only have him under contract for one season, having a Puig bobblehead game is a no brainer.

2018 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Bobbleheads Review

2018 featured some pretty cool Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobbleheads. The Reds Hall of Fame continued its tradition of distributing bobbleheads to fans on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays of each month during the season with the purchase of an admission ticket. I did not get every bobblehead that the Reds Hall of Fame handed out this season as some were of repeat players. In this post, I will review the bobbleheads I added to my collection courtesy of the Reds Hall of Fame.

The first bobblehead I received from the Reds Hall of Fame this year was a members’ exclusive bobblehead of Chuck Harmon. In order to obtain the bobblehead, you had to be a Reds Hall of Fame and Museum member. This is the first ever Reds bobblehead of Chuck Harmon and the reason why I became a member. The membership also included some other perks, but the Harmon bobblehead is the best benefit of being a member in my opinion.

The second bobblehead from the Reds Hall of Fame that was added to my collection was a 1988 Rookie of the Year Chris Sabo bobble. Sabo is a bigtime fan favorite among Reds Country, and this particular bobble honors his Rookie of the Year award. I do not actively try to get repeat players unless the bobblehead is significantly different. I have the 2010 Sabo bobblehead that the Reds gave out when he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. The 2018 bobblehead came free with my Reds Hall of Fame membership, and even though I already have a Sabo bobble, the Rookie of the Year version is a pretty cool addition to my collection.

Third on the list of Reds Hall of Fame bobbleheads that I received was a bobblehead of Ernie Lombardi. He is a Reds legend, and I had been wanting either the team or the Reds Hall of Fame to give out a bobblehead of him for what seemed like an eternity. This bobblehead looks great and came free with my membership.

Fourth was a double bobblehead of Johnny Vander Meer. Like Lombardi, I had been wanting the Reds Hall of Fame or the team to give a bobblehead of Vander Meer for a very long time. He was on the 1940 World Series Championship team and became the first player in history to throw back to back no hitters. As such, his bobblehead is a double bobble and it might be one of the best that the Reds Hall of Fame has ever produced.

The fifth Reds Hall of Fame bobblehead for my collection in 2018 is a Tom Browning on a Building bobblehead. This bobblehead commemorates his famous 1993 stunt in which he left Wrigley Field during a game and perched himself on a roof across the street from the stadium. This is a fantastic bobblehead of Browning, and I consider it significantly different from other Browning bobblehead in my collection. 

The final bobblehead of 2018 that the Reds Hall of Fame gave out was of Harry Wright. This bobblehead was given out in exchange for a donation to the Reds Hall of Fame "150th Anniversary Legacy Campaign" to help cover the costs of renovating the actual Reds Hall of Fame and Museum building. Wright is the "Father of Professional Baseball" as he paid every player on the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings making them the first professional baseball team. This is by far my favorite Reds Hall of Fame bobblehead of 2018. 

Those are all the bobbleheads that I added to my collection courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum in 2018. They all look great and do an excellent job of representing different generations of Reds history. My favorite from this batch might be Ernie Lombardi. It’s hard to beat a bobblehead of a Reds legend and National Baseball Hall of Famer which is what Lombardi is. The only bobbleheads from the 2018 Reds Hall of Fame lineup that I did not get were Adam Dunn and Johnny Bench as I already have bobbles of them in my collection, and I felt that the 2018 versions were not significantly different enough. 2018 was a solid year for Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobbleheads, and I cannot wait to see what the Reds Hall of Fame unveils for 2019.

Ernie Lombardi Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead of Ernie Lombardi. 

The 2018 Reds Hall of Fame Bobbleheads Are...

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum announced their series of bobbleheads for the 2018 season. It will feature many Reds legends from different generations that are sure to make excellent bobblehead collection additions. Some players that are featured are repeats while others are long overdue to have a bobblehead made in their likeness. In this post, I will discuss the bobbleheads that the Reds Hall of Fame plans to give out in 2018 as well as share my thoughts on them.

The first bobblehead of the year will be given in April and will feature Chris Sabo. It will commemorate the 30^th anniversary of Sabo’s rookie of the year award. The Reds have given out two bobbleheads of Sabo in the past, and this is the first time the Reds Hall of Fame has featured “Spuds” as a bobblehead. While it is sure to be a cool bobblehead, I already have the Sabo bobble the Reds gave out in 2010 and do not plan on getting this one.

The next bobblehead will be featured in May and will immortalize the great Ernie Lombardi. This bobblehead celebrates the 80^th anniversary of Lombari’s MVP award. Lombardi is a baseball hall of famer and should have had a bobblehead a long time ago, and I am very happy that the Reds Hall of Fame is finally immortalizing him as a bobblehead. This is a bobble I plan on adding to my collection.

June’s bobblehead will feature another player who should have been immortalized as a bobblehead years ago. Johnny Vander Meer will have his back-to-back no hitter showcased as a dual bobblehead in order to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the amazing accomplishment. I have been begging for a Vander Meer bobblehead for a long time, and I couldn’t be more excited to get my hands on this one during the 2018 season.

The July bobblehead will be of Adam Dunn to honor his induction into the Reds Hall of Fame. Dunn was one of my favorites as a kid, and the bobblehead the team gave out in 2002 of him was one of the very first bobbles I had in my collection. Since I have the 2002 bobblehead, I will not be getting his bobblehead from the Reds Hall of Fame during the 2018 season.

The August bobblehead is really cool and one I am on the fence about getting. It will honor the 25^th anniversary of Tom Browning leaving Wrigley Field to watch the game from a rooftop across the street. While I already have a bobblehead of Browning, this bobblehead just sounds too awesome to pass up on adding to my collection.

September will feature a bobblehead of hall of famer Johnny Bench that will showcase the 50^th anniversary of his rookie of the year award. While there is absolutely no doubt that Bench is the greatest catcher in Reds history and possibly MLB history, this will be the 8^th bobblehead of Bench that either the Reds or the Reds Hall of Fame will give to fans. I already have a Bench bobblehead and do not plan on getting this one.

Once again, the Reds Hall of Fame has a good series of bobbles planned for the upcoming baseball season. While I would have loved to see more new players featured alongside Lombardi and Vander Meer, it is great that two of greatest Reds players form the 1940 World Series Championship team are finally being honored. If you are looking to add some Reds bobbleheads to your collection, head on over to the Reds Hall of Fame during the 2018 season.