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

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.

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!