Reds Bobbles vs. Reds Hall of Fame Bobbles 2016

For the past few weeks, I have been going over the bobbleheads that the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum and the Cincinnati Reds gave to fans in 2016. Since I got every bobblehead that both the team and the hall of fame gave away to fans, I thought I would compare the lines of nodders and determine who had the better series of bobbles. I will look at the players featured, the appearance of the bobbles, and the overall quality of the nodders in determining which bobblehead series reigns supreme for 2016.

For players featured, the Cincinnati Reds introduced the bobblehead versions of two players who had not been immortalized as nodders in Zack Cozart and Eugenio Suarez. There were also three repeat player bobbles that had a unique twist to differentiate them from years past. They were nodders of Vottomatic who is the superhero version of Joey Votto, a Cincinnati Reds / Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. double bobblehead, and a Star Wars X-Wing pilot Mr. Redlegs bobblehead. The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out bobbleheads of Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, Jim Maloney, Lee May, and Pete Rose. For everybody but Rose, this was their bobblehead debut. The Rose bobble was of him being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame while the other bobbles featured the Reds legends in their playing days. Since the Reds Hall of Fame featured more new players as bobbles than the Reds, I’m giving this round to the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Next we will take a look at the overall appearance of the nodders. The bobbleheads that the Reds gave away looked great. Suarez and Cozart are in traditional Reds uniforms, Vottomatic is in a superhero outfit, Ken Griffey Jr. is featured in both his Reds and Mariners uniform, and the Star Wars Mr. Redlegs bobblehead features the mustached mascot of the Reds in an X-Wing spaceship. The Reds Hall of Fame bobbles feature the players in traditional Reds uniforms based on the era that the players were from with the Rose bobblehead featuring Rose in his red hall of fame induction jacket. Based on the uniqueness of the appearances of the Reds bobbleheads, I’m giving this round to the Reds.

With both the Reds and the Reds Hall of Fame claiming a point apiece, this round will determine which bobbleheads were of better quality as well as who is the bobblehead champion of 2016. The overall quality of the Reds bobbleheads was pretty good. The paintjobs on the players were decent for the most part and the heads bobbled pretty well. However, the paintjobs on the bases could have been better as the lettering for the names of the players looked a little splotchy on some bobbles. Also, the bats that are held in the hands of the Griffey Jr. bobble were pretty loose and would fall out easily. The Reds Hall of Fame bobbles feature quality paintjobs on both the players and the bases. The bat in Lee May’s hands fit snuggly, and Rose’s foot screw into the base to keep the bobble in place. Therefore, the quality round goes to the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Based on a final score of 2-1, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out the better line of bobbleheads in 2016. The players were featured were mostly new, and the quality of the bobbles were topnotch. The Reds bobbles had the better look, but the repeat players and shabby paintjobs on the bases and the loose bats on the Girffey Jr. bobblehead were the factors that gave the title of bobblehead champ to the Reds Hall of Fame. That is not to say that the Reds bobbles are bad as they are in fact really nice, but the Reds Hall of Fame bobbles were just better overall. If you are a Reds fan, I suggest picking up both lines of bobbleheads for your collection.

Go Redlegs!

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum 2016 Bobbleheads Review

With the month of August coming to an end, so to are the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead giveaways. The Reds Hall of Fame gave out five bobbleheads this year. One bobblehead per month was given out to everybody who bought a general admission ticket to the Reds Hall of Fame on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from April to August. Every month I went to the Reds Hall of Fame and got the new bobblehead that they were giving out and in my opinion, this was the best line of bobbles the Reds Hall of Fame has ever produced. 

The first bobblehead they gave out this baseball season was of former Reds pitcher Jim Maloney. The nodder looks great and features Maloney in the classic pinstripe uniform that the Redlegs used to wear. The stance is of Maloney pitching, and the bobblehead has a great look overall.

The second nodder was of former Reds slugger Lee May. With May being known as the “Big Bopper,” this bobblehead was molded to showcase his slugging ability by having May hold a bat. It’s a simple bobblehead, but it still looks nice and is a great piece of Reds memorabilia.

Third on the list of bobbles was a special Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame induction Pete Rose nodder. This bobble featured the legendary “Hit King” in a red suit jacket standing in front of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum logo. This was given out in June, the month that Pete Rose was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame, and it was the only bobble that year that had to be screwed into the base. This was the third bobblehead of Rose that the Reds have given out in the past three years, but considering how this was a Reds Hall of Fame induction bobble, I thought it was cool enough to get for my collection.

The fourth bobblehead of the year was of former Reds pitcher Jack Billingham. Like Maloney, the bobblehead of Billingham features him in the midst of his pitching motion, and the bobble pulls it off pretty well. Unlike the Maloney bobblehead, the nodder of Billingham is meant to be viewed from the side as that is where his name is on the base.

The fifth and final bobblehead the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave away with the price of admission in 2016 was of Gary Nolan. Being another pitcher, the Reds Hall of Fame could have had Nolan in the midst of his pitching motion like Billingham and Maloney. Thankfully they decided to go with a different pose and had Nolan simply standing on the base with his hand on the ball in his glove. It is different enough to separate it from the other Reds pitching bobbles yet similar enough to display that he is a pitcher.

In conclusion, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum 2016 bobblehead line is a great series of nodders that every Reds fan should have in their collection. All but Rose had not yet been featured as bobbles, and the quality of these nodders is top notch. Hopefully next year’s line of bobbles is just as good!

Jim Maloney Bobblehead Unboxing and More

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Jim Maloney bobblehead and shows what he got from the Cincinnati Reds Opening Night game and the inaugural FC Cincinnati home opener.

Bobblehead Page Update

Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/7szAEAxyiu With New #Reds Nodder#PITvsCIN #MLB #Baseball #NBA #NHL #WWE #MLS pic.twitter.com/QVRUZrCbpH

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) April 11, 2016

2016 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads So Far

Even though Opening Day is not for a few months, the Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum are already promoting what bobbleheads they will be giving out to fans this season. At the time that this post was written, the Reds have announced four of the bobbleheads that they will give away and the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum have announced two of the bobbleheads that will be given to fans with the price of admission. In this post, I will share my thoughts on the nodders that have been revealed.

Let’s start with the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobbleheads. The bobblehead that will be given out during the month of April will be of legendary Reds pitcher Jim Maloney. This is an awesome choice for a bobblehead. Maloney had a great career as a Red and is more than deserving of his own bobblehead. I definitely plan on stopping by the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum to pick up this nodder.

The other bobblehead that the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum has announced is of Lee May. “The Big Bopper” is another fantastic choice for a bobblehead as he was a great player who helped the Reds reach the 1970 World Series, and he helped lay the foundation for the Big Red Machine that would dominate baseball throughout the 1970’s. This bobblehead is a must have for my collection.

The Reds have announced four bobbleheads that they will be giving out with the first one being a superhero bobblehead of Joey Votto. While I do find this bobblehead to be underwhelming as there are tons of Joey Votto bobbleheads in the world, I do plan on attending the game so that I can get it. Odds are that the bobblehead will be of Votto in some sort of superhero outfit instead of the typical Reds uniform, so I consider it to be different enough to add to my collection.

The second bobblehead that will be given out will be a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter Mr. Redlegs bobblehead. This sounds awesome. Even though I have three variations of Mr. Redlegs nodders in my collection already, a Star Wars Mr. Redlegs bobblehead is too good to pass up on so I will definitely be heading to the game to get it.

The third bobblehead the team will give out is a dual Cincinnati Reds/Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. bobblehead. This bobblehead is another cool nodder that I will be adding to my collection. With “the Kid” most likely taking his rightful place in the Hall of Fame this year, it makes perfect sense for the Reds to capitalize on it and produce a nodder of him. The fact that it will feature him as both a member of the Reds and the Mariners is a cool idea, and I cannot wait to get it.

The fourth bobblehead is of shortstop Zack Cozart. I am excited about this bobblehead as it features a solid player on the team who has yet to be immortalized as a Reds SGA nodder. Cozart is an amazing defensive shortstop, so my guess is that the nodder will portray him making a great defensive play.

Those are the six Reds bobbleheads that have been announced, and aside from the Votto nodder, they all have me pretty excited. It is pretty much assumed that the Reds, who are currently in rebuild mode, will suck in 2016, so the need for awesome promotions to help drive fans to the games is at a high level. Based on the bobbleheads they have announced so far, they are on the right track.

Go Redlegs!