Jose Rijo Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Jose Rijo bobblehead. 

Bobblehead Page Update

#Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e with a new #Reds Bobblehead#LetsGoReds #bobblehof #ASG2017 #MLB #ATOBTTR #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/sR7nGgc0C9

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) July 11, 2017

Redsfest 2016 Day 2

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about his experience at day 2 of Redsfest 2016.

Watch the day 1 vlog of Redsfest 2016 here.

The Streak Still Stings

In the world of sports, nothing lasts forever. The Chicago Cubs proved that last week when they ended a drought that had plagued the north side of the city for over a century by vanquishing the “curse of the goat” and bringing Wrigley Field its first Commissioners Trophy since 1908. While Chicago celebrates, Cleveland mourns as their search for their first World Series championship since 1948 continues. Cincinnati is in a similar situation.

Though not as a drastic as the title woes of the Indians, the Cincinnati Reds are now closing in on a 30-year gap since they last won the World Series. The previous time the Reds won it all was 1990. Under the tutelage of Lou Piniella, guys like Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Billy Hatcher, and the Nasty Boys spearheaded a World Series sweep of the Oakland Athletics to cap off a wire-to-wire season. Since then, the Reds have only made it to the postseason in 1995, 2010, 2012, and 2013 and have failed to win the World Series all four times.

2012 was the year I thought the Reds had the talent necessary to win it all. Unfortunately an injury to ace pitcher Johnny Cueto in Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series and a three game collapse at Great American Ballpark ended what had been the most successful season since the 1995 campaign. With the Reds in an era of reconstruction, the streak of seasons without a World Series championship for the Queen City does not appear to be ending soon.

When it comes to the gridiron, the Cincinnati Bengals are still searching for their Super Bowl victory in franchise history and their first postseason win since the 1990 season. Despite reaching the Super Bowl twice in the 1980s, the Bengals fell to the San Francisco 49ers both times. Following the 1990 season, the team fell into an abyss that members of Who Dey Nation know as the “Dark Ages of the 1990s.” Marvin Lewis was then hired and began to lead the Bengals out of the wilderness and into the promised land in 2003. The team has reached the playoffs seven times with Lewis at the helm.

Unfortunately the Bengals were defeated in the first round of the postseason all seven times and are not only still trying to win their first Super Bowl but their first playoff game in nearly 30 years. The Bengals have made the playoffs for the past five years, and the 2015 season appeared to be the season of destiny for the team. They finished with a record of 12-4 and had the city dreaming of a Super Bowl victory. A December thumb injury to Andy Dalton and an infamous implosion in the playoff game derailed what had been the most successful Bengals season of my lifetime and extended the playoff win draught.

Like the Indians, the city of Cincinnati knows all about postseason streaks that result in heartbreak. The Reds and the Bengals haven’t had real postseason success since 1990 as that was the last year the Reds won the World Series and the final time the Bengals notched a playoff victory. Hopefully this streak of postseason misery comes to an end soon so that Cincinnati sports fans can once again feel the joy of a win when it matters most.

Go Redlegs and Who Dey!

2016 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Predictions Part 2

Now that the 2015 season has come to a close for my beloved Cincinnati Reds, I think that now would be an appropriate time for some 2016 predictions. I am not predicting how the Reds will do next season but rather what bobbleheads I think the team will give out to fans. There will be two parts to this post. First will be the bobbleheads that I believe the team will give out, and second will be the bobbleheads that I believe the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will give during the regular season.

For the most part, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum tries to incorporate some sort of theme into their bobblehead giveaways. For example, last season was the 25^th anniversary of the 1990 wire-to-wire Cincinnati Reds world championship season and as a result, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out bobbleheads of players from that team. As far as I know, 2016 is not an anniversary year for the Reds so I have no idea what theme the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will have with their bobbleheads. Therefore, this list of predictions will have no theme and instead be a hodgepodge of legendary Reds figures.

I predict that the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will once again give out five different bobbleheads, and the first one to be distributed will be of 1990 Cincinnati Reds manger, Lou Piniella. “Sweet” Lou was one of the most popular managers in Reds history because of his fiery attitude and his guidance of the Reds to the 1990 World Series crown. I could not believe that he was not featured as a bobblehead this past year, and I think that the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will make up for that by featuring him as a bobblehead in 2016. Hopefully it will incorporate Piniella throwing a base!

Bobblehead number two will be of Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer is the only pitcher in history to throw back-to-back no-hitters and was part of the 1940 Cincinnati Reds World Series Championship team. He is without a doubt worthy of a bobblehead.

The third bobblehead will be of Fred Hutchinson. He was one of the most prolific managers in the history of the Reds as he helped usher in a period of winning baseball during a time in which getting into the playoffs was impossible when compared to today’s game, and he set the stage for the glory days of the Big Red Machine. He took the Reds to the 1961 World Series and had his number, 1, retired permanently by the team.

Fourth will be Jose Rijo. He was the MVP of the 1990 World Series, and his dominance on the pitching mound helped secure the fifth World Series crown in franchise history for the Reds. While he was not featured as a bobblehead last year, I believe that the Reds hall of Fame and Museum will make up for that in 2016.

The fifth and final bobblehead of 2016 for the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will be of Ted Kluszewski. He was one of the most popular players in Reds history and was known for cutting the sleeves off his jersey because his arms were so big. He was a coach under Sparky Anderson during the Big Red Machine era in the 1970’s during which he earned two World Series Championship rings, and his number, 18, was retired permanently by the Reds in 1998. I am shocked that “Big Klu” has never been featured as a nodder, and hopefully the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum rights this wrong in 2016.

Those are my Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead predictions for 2016. If my predictions are correct, then I will definitely try to head to the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum to pick up every single bobblehead. Even if the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum goes with other Reds figures to immortalize as nodders, hopefully the people they choose will be fresh faces who have never been featured as a bobblehead. As a collector, I always hope for new people to be featured as bobbleheads as it makes collecting much more fun, and with an endless supply of Reds legends, the possibilities for great Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobbleheads are mindboggling!  

Paul O'Neill Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 Paul O'Neill bobblehead from the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH A NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #GoReds #ATOBTTR #CINvsARZ #Bengals #MLB pic.twitter.com/RZoRkf7uVU

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 7, 2015

2015 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Bobbleheads Review

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!