Cincinnati Reds 150th Anniversary Johnny Bench Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds 150th Anniversary Johnny Bench bobblehead.

The 2019 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Are...

With the Cincinnati Reds celebrating their 150th anniversary season this year, the team has announced that they will be giving away seven bobbleheads that represent different eras of Reds baseball. Six of these bobbleheads are of Redlegs legends who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. So who is being featured as a bobblehead this year? Let's take a look. 

The first bobblehead that will be given out is a 150th anniversary Mr. Redlegs bobble. This will be given out on May 4 against the San Francisco Giants. This is the bobblehead game I am looking forward to the most as Mr. Redlegs is a timeless mascot who is synonymous with the team, and it makes perfect sense that the franchise wants to incorporate him into their 150th anniversary season celebration. 

The second bobblehead of the season is of Ernie Lombardi. This will be given out to fans when the Redlegs host the Dodgers on May 18. While this is the first time the Reds team is giving out a bobblehead of Lombardi, it is actually the second year in a row in which fans can attain a bobble of the legendary player as the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out a Lombardi bobblehead last season. 

Third on the list of Reds 2019 bobblehead giveaways is Joe Morgan. This bobblehead will be given out when the Washington Nationals come to town on June 1. Considered to be one of the greatest if not the greatest second baseman of all time, it is a little shocking that this is only the second Morgan bobblehead the team has ever given out to fans with the first being distributed in 2004. The Reds Hall of Fame gave out a mini bobblehead of Morgan in 2012. I would expect a big crowd for this game as Morgan is a heavy fan favorite in Cincinnati. 

On June 15 against the Texas Rangers, the Reds will give out a bobblehead of local legend and National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. The Reds have previously given out Larkin bobbles three times and the Reds Hall of Fame gave out a bobblehead of Larkin in 2014. The crowd for this game should be large too as Larkin played his entire career with his hometown Redlegs and is a huge fan favorite.

Tony Perez will have his bobblehead given out on July 27 when the Reds play the Colorado Rockies. The Reds gave out a single bobblehead of Perez in 2005, and he was featured as part of a triple bobblehead alongside Sean Casey and Joey Votto in 2017. Considering how scarce Perez bubbleheads are, this could be the hottest giveaway of the season.

On August 17, the Reds will give out a bobblehead of Johnny Bench when the St. Louis Cardinals come to town. I believe that Bench is the player to be featured the most as a bobblehead by both the Reds and the Reds Hall of Fame. Despite that fact, the Big Red Machine is held in high regard in Cincinnati and a bobblehead of Bench is sure to garner a big crowd.

The last bobblehead the Reds will give out in 2018 will be on September 7 when the Reds take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, This bobblehead will feature Ken Griffey Jr. who is not only a popular player in Reds Country but in all of Major League Baseball. The Reds have previously given out bobbles of Griffey Jr. three times with the most recent bobble having been given out in 2016. With Griffey Jr. being inducted into the Hall of Fame a few years ago, this bobblehead could rival the Perez one as most sought after stadium giveaway item for 2019.

Those are the bobbleheads the Reds will give to fans in 2019. All the featured players have already been immortalized as bobbleheads by either the Reds, the Reds Hall of Fame, or both. All of the bobbleheads except for Mr. Redlegs are being given out as two sets of three with each set representing three different eras of Reds history. These eras include the Crosley Field era, the Riverfront Stadium era and the Great American Ball Park era. A cool feature of these sets is that when they are put together, the backdrops will form the 150^thanniversary logo of the Reds.

While I am excited to add these 150^thanniversary bobbleheads to my collection, I am bummed that no current players are being featured. I would have loved to add bobbleheads of Jesse Winker, Amir Garrett, Jose Peraza, and Luis Castillo among others to my collection. The bobblehead I am looking forward to obtaining the most this season is Mr. Redlegs. He is a great mascot, and I love adding different Mr. Redlegs bobblehead variants to my collection. In conclusion, the lineup of Reds legends will make for a highly desirable series of bobbleheads that will make Reds fans happy.

1/29/19 Update:
Today the Cincinnati Reds announced that they will be giving out a bobblehead of newly acquired outfielder Yasiel Puig. Aside from the Mr. Redlegs bobblehead, the Puig bobble is the one I am looking forward to the most. Puig came to the Reds via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is one of the most popular players in baseball and considering how the Reds currently only have him under contract for one season, having a Puig bobblehead game is a no brainer.

Cincinnati Reds 1975 Replica World Series Ring Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds 1975 Replica World Series ring. 

The 2018 Reds Hall of Fame Bobbleheads Are...

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum announced their series of bobbleheads for the 2018 season. It will feature many Reds legends from different generations that are sure to make excellent bobblehead collection additions. Some players that are featured are repeats while others are long overdue to have a bobblehead made in their likeness. In this post, I will discuss the bobbleheads that the Reds Hall of Fame plans to give out in 2018 as well as share my thoughts on them.

The first bobblehead of the year will be given in April and will feature Chris Sabo. It will commemorate the 30^th anniversary of Sabo’s rookie of the year award. The Reds have given out two bobbleheads of Sabo in the past, and this is the first time the Reds Hall of Fame has featured “Spuds” as a bobblehead. While it is sure to be a cool bobblehead, I already have the Sabo bobble the Reds gave out in 2010 and do not plan on getting this one.

The next bobblehead will be featured in May and will immortalize the great Ernie Lombardi. This bobblehead celebrates the 80^th anniversary of Lombari’s MVP award. Lombardi is a baseball hall of famer and should have had a bobblehead a long time ago, and I am very happy that the Reds Hall of Fame is finally immortalizing him as a bobblehead. This is a bobble I plan on adding to my collection.

June’s bobblehead will feature another player who should have been immortalized as a bobblehead years ago. Johnny Vander Meer will have his back-to-back no hitter showcased as a dual bobblehead in order to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the amazing accomplishment. I have been begging for a Vander Meer bobblehead for a long time, and I couldn’t be more excited to get my hands on this one during the 2018 season.

The July bobblehead will be of Adam Dunn to honor his induction into the Reds Hall of Fame. Dunn was one of my favorites as a kid, and the bobblehead the team gave out in 2002 of him was one of the very first bobbles I had in my collection. Since I have the 2002 bobblehead, I will not be getting his bobblehead from the Reds Hall of Fame during the 2018 season.

The August bobblehead is really cool and one I am on the fence about getting. It will honor the 25^th anniversary of Tom Browning leaving Wrigley Field to watch the game from a rooftop across the street. While I already have a bobblehead of Browning, this bobblehead just sounds too awesome to pass up on adding to my collection.

September will feature a bobblehead of hall of famer Johnny Bench that will showcase the 50^th anniversary of his rookie of the year award. While there is absolutely no doubt that Bench is the greatest catcher in Reds history and possibly MLB history, this will be the 8^th bobblehead of Bench that either the Reds or the Reds Hall of Fame will give to fans. I already have a Bench bobblehead and do not plan on getting this one.

Once again, the Reds Hall of Fame has a good series of bobbles planned for the upcoming baseball season. While I would have loved to see more new players featured alongside Lombardi and Vander Meer, it is great that two of greatest Reds players form the 1940 World Series Championship team are finally being honored. If you are looking to add some Reds bobbleheads to your collection, head on over to the Reds Hall of Fame during the 2018 season.

Cincinnati Reds Replica Pete Rose Statue Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Cincinnati Reds replica statue of Pete Rose.

1976 Cincinnati Reds World Series Championship Replica Ring Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes an SGA 1976 Cincinnati Reds World Series Championship replica ring.

Photo Page Update

Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/JzwEdxiFEu With #14Forever Weekend Pics#Reds #SDvsCIN #LetsGoReds #MLB #CHCvsCIN pic.twitter.com/JZJ0335GZI

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 26, 2016

Celebrity Softball Challenge

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

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!