The Cancelled Bobblehead

Please note that this was written before the All-Star teams were announced.

If you have been a fan of my website, then you know that I am a collector of bobbleheads and a diehard fan of the Cincinnati Reds. When the Reds release their promotional schedule, I always look for the games that feature a bobblehead giveaway so that I can get tickets for it and add the new nodder to my collection. One bobblehead on the 2015 schedule that caught my eye was a special “2015 All-Star player” bobblehead. With the Reds hosting the 2015 midsummer classic, the team decided to give away a nodder of a Reds player that made the All-Star team with the player being featured in what I would guess to be the National League All-Star uniform. Unfortunately for bobblehead fans, it appears that this nodder has been cancelled.

As I was looking at the Reds promotional schedule to see if the third “Stars of the Queen City” bobblehead had been revealed, I noticed that the “2015 All-Star player” bobblehead game had been changed. Instead of giving out a bobblehead, the team is now giving out a figurine of a Reds player that makes the All-Star team. Talk about disappointing.

This was one of the bobbleheads I had been looking forward to most this season. Last year, the team gave away what I consider to be the best Reds bobblehead of all time in that it was a 2015 All-Star Game Mr. Redlegs nodder. It is a timeless nodder considering that it features a mascot and not a player, and it has an outstanding look to it. I was expecting something similar this year when the team announced that they would give away a bobblehead of a Reds player who made the All-Star team.

If you look at the Reds record though, it is easy to see why the team has decided to with a figurine instead of a bobblehead. As I write this, the Reds are in fourth in the National League Central and have once again been ravaged by injuries. Combine that with frustratingly bad play and the results have not been pretty. Fans have noticed this too as it appears that Todd Frazier might be the only Reds player at the 2015 All-Star game. Shortstop Zack Cozart was having a great year and was in contention to make the All-Star team, but a terrible leg injury has him on the shelf for the rest of the year, leaving Frazier as the lone Reds player to possibly make the team.

I would have loved to see Cozart make the team and have him immortalized as the All-Star bobblehead. Frazier had a bobblehead game very early in the season, and I doubt fans would shell out the cash for another Frazier bobblehead or any Reds other player for that matter. As I write this, Phillips and Votto have gained ground in the All-Star voting for their positions, but Phillips, like Frazier, has already had a bobblehead game this season, and Votto seemingly has one every other year.

With it being slim pickings for Reds All-Stars, the team has decided to play it safe and give out a figurine instead of a bobblehead. The figurine might turn out to look pretty cool, but bobbleheads are and always will be cooler. It is out of my hands though, and if I like how the figurine looks, I might head to Great American Ball Park to get it.