Joe Oliver Bobblehead Review

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone reviews a 2015 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Joe Oliver bobblehead. 

Redsfest 2015

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone vlogs about his experience at Redsfest 2015.

My Redsfest 2015 Experience

Redsfest 2015 came and went this past weekend and like last year, I loaded up my Cincinnati Reds back sack with baseballs and spent my entire Saturday at the Duke Energy Center meeting former, current, and future stars of the Redlegs while soaking up everything that the annual December event had to offer. If you are a Reds fan and have not yet attended a Redsfest, then you are missing out on a fantastic experience. I have been multiple times and each year I have a blast. The event is a Cincinnati Reds fan version of paradise as it features awesome exhibits, opportunities to meet some of your favorite players, and pick up some sweet Reds memorabilia. The event takes place usually during the first Friday and Saturday in December. I was only able to attend on Saturday and even though I was only there for one day, I still had a great time. In this post, I will discuss some of my favorite elements of the 2015 edition of Redsfest.

My absolute favorite part of Redsfest is getting autographs. Despite only going on Saturday, I still came away with a pretty good haul by obtaining 13 autographs from 13 different former, current, and future Reds players on 13 different baseballs. I love getting to meet them and talk to them for a little bit while they kindly write their name on one of my baseballs. I was most excited to get the autograph of Joe Oliver. He was the catcher for the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series Championship Reds. You can see his autograph as well as the other autographs I obtained at Redsfest on the “Autograph” page.

Another cool element of Redsfest I enjoy is all the exhibits. There are a ton of things to see such as the World Series trophies, game used equipment and memorabilia, and interviews with past, current, and future Reds players. There is a lot to soak in and in order to get the full Redsfest experience, I recommend going both days. My favorite exhibit is the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum section as it features a massive amount of Reds history and chronicles the careers of some of the all-time greats to have ever put on a Reds uniform.

The atmosphere of the event is another fantastic feature of Redsfest as it seems that nearly everybody there is in a great mood. Everybody I talked to and interacted with was very pleasant, and the players I met genuinely seemed happy to be there. It is really cool to see a huge amount of people gathered in one place to celebrate Reds fandom, and it is even cooler that the players actually seem like they want to be there.

In conclusion, my experience at Redsfest 2015 was amazing. I always have a great time and this year was no different. Getting autographs, checking out the exhibits, and being immersed in a world in which Redlegs culture is abundant is always fun, and I cannot wait to go back. Hopefully I can go for both days next year and once again get lost in the world of the Cincinnati Reds.

Go Redlegs!

Autograph Page Update

#AUTOGRAPH PAGE UPDATE @ https://t.co/oiRAWLpVYr WITH 13 NEW #REDS SIGNATURES #Redsfest #Bengals #WhoDey #LetsRoar pic.twitter.com/OAfa6sENLK

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) December 6, 2015

Photo Page Update

PHOTO PAGE UPDATE @ https://t.co/yzF6TznxxM WITH #REDSFEST PICS #Reds #Bengals #WhoDey #LetsRoar #CINvsCLE #NFL #WWE pic.twitter.com/ULP5vZZeVy

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) December 6, 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.

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!