2021 Reds All-Star Bobbles on Parade Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2021 Cincinnati Reds All-Star Bobbles on Parade bobblehead. 

Cincinnati Reds 2015 All-Star Game Ring Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds 2015 All-Star Game ring. 

D.C. Bound

With my beloved Cincinnati Reds playing some better baseball as the first half of the season comes to a close, three members of the team have been selected as National League All-Stars. Scooter Gennett, Eugenio Suarez, and Joey Votto will represent the Redlegs in Washington D.C. during the 2018 Major League Ball All-Star Game. They have been by far the best players on the team this year and are very much deserving of this honor.

Scooter has become a fan favorite in Cincinnati ever since he signed with the team in 2017. He is a solid second baseman and has been crushing it at the plate. He is currently batting .329 and is one of the best offensive players in the National League. Suarez has become an excellent third baseman and is arguably the best overall player on the team. As of now, he has 66 RBIs and is batting .312. Votto is continuing to craft his hall of fame worthy resume and is further cementing himself as the best hitter in franchise history. Known for having a keen eye at the plate, he currently has an OBP of .428 is batting .296.

As I said earlier, Scooter, Suarez, and Votto are all deserving of being named to the NL All-Star team. They are big threats at the plate and are quality defensive players as well. Having one player represent your team in the All-Star game is great but having three is fantastic. This is the first time since 2014 that the Reds will be sending three players to the midsummer classic. I’m sure they will make Cincinnati proud.

Go Redlegs!

Bobblehead Page Update

#Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e with a new #Reds Bobblehead#bobbleheadaddicts #bobblehof #letsgoreds #ATOBTTR #mlb pic.twitter.com/Ix3SJqVXyK

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 6, 2017

Bye-Bye BP

One of the hardest things for any sports fan to go through is the rebuilding process of their favorite teams. It can feel like somebody is rubbing salt in the wound as teams undergoing reconstruction generally have losing records and also trade away players perceived as fan favorites. Trading away the star players that fans had grown to love is perhaps the hardest thing about rebuilding a franchise as it usually catches fans off guard when it happens. For members of Reds Country, the rebuilding process has been felt for the past few years. Guys like Johnny Cueto, Jay Bruce, Mike Leake, Aroldis Chapman, and Todd Frazier all contributed to the success the Cincinnati Reds had from 2010 to 2013 and have all since been traded due to the rebuilding efforts of the franchise. All the players previously mentioned left an impact on the franchise that fans will never forget. However, the Reds’ most recent trade might prove to be the most difficult for fans to swallow as the franchise traded team veteran and Cincinnati favorite Brandon Phillips to the Atlanta Braves for a pair of young pitchers.

Rumors of the trade began to circulate late Saturday night and intensified into Sunday. Baseball experts and various sports outlets were reporting that a trade between the Reds and the Braves involving Brandon Phillips was a done deal. I was a bit skeptical when I read these reports as the Reds have unsuccessfully tried to ship Phillips out of the Queen City multiple times in the past. Each time it seemed like the Reds had finally traded away the popular second baseman, news would break saying that Phillips exercised his no trade clause and would remain as a member of the Reds.

I followed the story throughout the morning on Sunday and did not see anything notably different than what was originally reported on Saturday night. I thought the trade was going to fall through again. A few hours later, a notification appeared on my phone saying that the Reds had traded Phillips to the Braves in exchange for two pitchers. I immediately checked the Twitter account of the Reds. To my shock, a statement had been released by the franchise confirming the trade. I was stunned not because the Reds traded Phillips but because Phillips had accepted the trade. I had heard reports of how Phillips loved Cincinnati and had hoped to retire as a Red. That is why he kept exercising his no trade clause. I began to expect him to leave via free agency since a trade was having trouble materializing. However, the Reds managed to get Phillips to accept the trade and ended his decade with the franchise.

Phillips was my favorite player on the team. He came to Cincinnati in 2006 and dazzled fans with his defensive prowess. He routinely made fantastic plays such as bare handing grounders, making diving catches, and throwing out base runners by tossing the ball behind his back. During his decade with the Reds, Phillips won four Gold Glove awards, a Silver Slugger award, became only the third Red in history to join the 30-30 club, and made the National League All-Star team three times. He also helped revitalize the franchise by bringing playoff baseball back the Queen City for the first time in 15 years. Aside from his on field accomplishments, Phillips was a fantastic representative of the Reds. He usually signed autographs before every game, never hesitated to take pictures with fans, and would occasionally pop up at high school sporting events in the Greater Cincinnati area. He was one of the friendliest players on the team, and the city will miss his trademark infectious smile.

Phillips was a huge fan favorite and had a genuine connection with the city that only few players can muster. He created a defensive highlight reel with the Reds and was one of the most popular players in the history of the franchise. His skill on the field combined with his love for Reds Country was well received by the city, and it is definitely sad to see him go. However, that is the cost of rebuilding a franchise. Fan favorites leave and make room for young prospects. As a Reds fan, I am excited to see what the two young pitchers the team got in exchange for Phillips can do. Hopefully they can help lead the Reds to prominence once again and have an impact on the city similar to that of Phillips. Thanks for the memories BP, and good luck in Atlanta.

Go Redlegs!

Duvall the All-Star

In a year that has Reds fan down in the dumps, one player has given Reds Country something to cheer about as he continues to grow and progress as a major leaguer. That player is Adam Duvall, and he is the lone Reds All-Star for 2016.

The Reds acquired Duvall from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for former Reds pitcher and fan favorite Mike Leake. As of now, it appears that the Reds got the better end of the deal as Leake and the Giants failed to make the playoffs last year while Duvall has continued to establish himself as one of the cornerstones of the future of the Reds.

As I write this post, Duvall currently has 22 homers and 59 RBIs. He is emerging as the next offensive powerhouse for the Reds and is garnering more fans every time he knocks a ball out of the park.  

I could not be happier for Duvall as he truly deserves this great opportunity to represent the Redlegs at the 2016 All-Star game. Of course I would love to see more Reds at the All-Star game, but aside from Jay Bruce and Zack Cozart, Duvall is really the only guy who deserves a spot on the National League roster. He is performing exceptionally well this season, and I hope he continues to get better and better. Congrats Duvall, and good luck at the All-Star game!

Go Redlegs!

All-Star Festivities

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about his experience at the 2015 MLB All-Star FanFest and the All-Star Game Block Party.

Frazier and the Mustache

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone recaps a Todd Frazier autograph signing and a Cincinnati Reds shirt giveaway game.

2016 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Predictions Part 1

Since 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.

After promoting a total of nine bobbleheads for the 2015 season, the number was later altered to eight after the final bobblehead was changed to a figurine. While eight is still a lot and the most that the Reds have ever given away in a season, the choice in players could have been better as a lot of them were repeats. With the team undergoing a youth movement and period of reconstruction, it is possible that the 2016 line will feature fresh faces as bobbleheads. I think that Reds will reduce the number from eight and go back to five bobblehead giveaways, and with that in mind, let’s begin with bobblehead number one.

The biggest event for the Reds in 2015 was the Major League Baseball All-Star Game as they were the host team for the game and its activities. Todd Frazier and Arolids Chapman both made the team, and Frazier won a dramatic Home Run Derby in front of an electric Cincinnati crowd. Therefore, bobblehead number one of the 2016 season will be a special Todd Frazier bobblehead in which is he decked out in the All-Star game uniform while holding the Home Run Derby trophy.

Bobblehead number two will be of Rasiel Iglesias. The undoubtedly 2015 Rookie of the Year for the Reds was the best pitcher in a young rotation. He flirted with a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves before giving up a hit in the 6^th inning, and he recorded over 30 strikeouts through three straight games. He is the future ace of this team, and I believe the Reds will capitalize on that by giving out a bobblehead of him.

The third bobblehead will feature Aaron Boone. Boone was one of the most popular players for the Reds during his time with the team, and with 2016 being an induction year for the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, I believe that Boone will be on the ballot and inducted. The Reds always feature a bobblehead of a Reds Hall of Fame inductee, and I believe that Boone will be the one chosen to be immortalized as a nodder.

Fourth is Zack Cozart. He was having the best season of his career in 2015 before an ugly knee injury ended his otherwise All-Star worthy campaign. He has been with the team since 2011 and the starting shortstop since 2012, and I believe it is time for him to be honored with a bobblehead.

The fifth and final nodder of the 2016 season will be Joey Votto, who had an incredible second half of the 2015 season. While I am not thrilled that this will be the final bobblehead, the Reds just do not have enough young stars on the roster that deserve a bobblehead, and based on what he did in 2015, I think the team will go to the “Votto well” once again.

Those are my predictions of the bobbleheads that the Reds will give out in 2016. While there is the potential for a lot of the new young players to be featured as bobbleheads, the fact of the matter is that those guys are not as popular with the fans as some of the older and more established players on the Reds, and when it comes down to who will be featured as a nodder, the main influence is whose bobblehead will result in the most ticket sales. If my predictions are correct, then I plan on going to the Iglesias game, the Boone game, and the Cozart game, as those are players who have never been featured as Reds stadium giveaway bobbleheads. I will go to the Frazier game only if he is in the All-Star uniform, and I will pass on the Votto game. Hopefully the Reds decide to go with players who have never been featured as bobbleheads so I can go to all of the bobblehead games!

Stay tuned for part two!

2015 All-Star Mr. Redlegs Bobblehead and Bobblestache Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 All-Star Mr. Redlegs Bobblehead and Bobblestache.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #GoReds #ATOBTTR #NYMvsCIN #MLB #Bengals #NFL pic.twitter.com/jThGvXr6Yr

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) September 24, 2015

Celebrity Softball Challenge

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about his experience at the Celebrity Softball Challenge during MLB All-Star Week 2015.

MLB All-Star Kickoff 2015

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about his day at the 2015 MLB All-Star FanFest and what was happening in downtown Cincinnati in preparation for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #Mesorocket #PITvsCIN #ATOBTTR #GoReds #MLB pic.twitter.com/oNDlhJtvY3

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 2, 2015

Photo Page Update

PIC PAGE UPDATE WITH #PIRATES VS #REDS GAME PICS @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM #GoReds #PITvsCIN #Bobblehead #MLB #ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/7IaxMEGaPz

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) August 2, 2015

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.

My All-Star Week Experience

The 2015 edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game took place on Tuesday, July 14, and in the end, the American League topped the National League by a score of 6-3. It was a fun game to watch, and it capped off an incredible week of baseball activities. I tried to soak up as much of the All-Star Game festivities as I could, and in this post, I will discuss what I was up to during All-Star week.

Things officially kicked off with the opening of the MLB All-Star Game FanFest on Friday. I went to it and was blown away by everything they had there. They had a lot of cool exhibits that dealt with not only the Cincinnati Reds but with some of the all-time greats to have ever played the sport of baseball. There were exhibits about the Negro League, women in baseball, and the baseball hall of fame. After the All-Star FanFest closed for the day, I went up to Fountain Square in the center of the city. Buildings and skywalks were decked out in All-Star decorations, and you could feel the excitement in Cincinnati building as the midsummer classic drew near. There was a concert at Fountain Square as the band, Saint Hotel, rocked the heart of downtown after a baseball themed fireworks display illuminated the night sky. It was a fantastic day and an excellent way to start All-Star week with a bang.

The next day I went to a celebrity softball game. It was not the official MLB Celebrity Softball Game. The one I went to was called the Celebrity Softball Challenge. It featured a lot of local celebrities playing softball for charity. The game featured Team Johnny Bench taking on Team Evander Holyfield. Players on the teams included a few members of the Cincinnati Bengals such as Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, a Cincinnati radio DJ named Meat, Tae Bo fitness guru Billy Blanks, and a few members of the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was a very entertaining game and you could tell that the celebrities were having fun. In the end, Team Bench destroyed Team Holyfield.

On Monday, the day of the Home Run Derby, I went back to the All-Star Game FanFest. The different booths and stations there were giving out a lot of free stuff, and I managed to pick up some really cool things for my sports memorabilia collection. I also got the autograph of Amos Otis, a former player of the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets among other teams. I also did the “Steal a Base Challenge” in which you race an MLB player on a screen. I chose to race Billy Hamilton and in the end, I beat him! I also went to the All-Star Game Block Party. There were games, a zip line, and an autograph session that featured former player and current co-host of the show “Intentional Talk,” Kevin Millar.

In the end, I found All-Star week to be a blast and now that the game is over and all the festivities of the midsummer classic are no longer in Cincinnati, I’m a little sad. This was the first time I had ever seen the city and the surrounding area come together and put on a spectacle for the rest of the nation to see and enjoy. Cincinnati truly shined in the national spotlight, and I cannot wait to see what happens the next time the MLB All-Star Game comes to the Queen City.

Check out pictures from All-Star week on the “Photos” page and keep an eye out for my trilogy of All-Star week vlogs!