Jose Rijo Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Jose Rijo bobblehead. 

2017 Cincinati Reds Bobblehead Predictions Part 2

Please note that this was written before any bobbleheads were announced.

With Redsfest just around the corner, I thought it would be an appopriate time to share my predictions for the 2017 series of Cincinnati Reds bobbleheads. One post will cover the line of nodders that the team will give away to fans during the season, and another post I will write will discuss the bobbleheads I think the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will give out during 2017. Please note that these are just my predictions and not an actual list of bobbleheads the Reds are producing. In this post, I will discuss the bobbles that I think the Reds Hall of Fame will hand out to fans this upcoming season.

My first prediction is a bobblehead of Lou Piniella. The legendary manager of the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series Championship team has yet to be immortalized as a Reds bobblehead. To me, that is a huge travesty as the team won its first World Series since 1976 with Piniella at the helm. Since Piniella is more involved with the Reds organization now than in years past, hopefully this is the year Reds fans finally get a bobblehead of “Sweet Lou.”

Another Reds legend I predict that the Reds Hall of Fame will give to fans as a bobblehead is Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer is famous for being the only pitcher in MLB history to throw consecutive no-hitters, and he helped the Reds win the World Series in 1940. Vander Meer is another player whose lack of bobblehead from the Reds baffles me. Since he has not been immortalized as a bobble yet, I predict that this is the year we finally see the only man with back-to-back no hitters as a bobblehead.

Third on my list of predictions is Ted Kluszewski. “Big Klu” is another Reds legend who I thought should have had a bobblehead a long time ago. Known for cutting the sleeves off his jersey, Kluszewski was a widely popular favorite among Reds fans. After his playing days were over, Kluszewski became a hitting coach for the Big Red Machine and helped the team win consecutive World Series Championships in 1975 and in 1976.

My fourth prediction is Jose Rijo. The 1990 World Series MVP has yet to be featured as a bobblehead. Rijo’s incredible pitching during the 1990 World Series was key in propelling the Reds over the Oakland Athletics. Reds fans have not forgotten his contributions either as he received a great ovation at the 1990 World Series reunion game in 2015.

My fifth and final prediction is that the Reds Hall of Fame will give out a bobblehead of Aaron Boone. Boone was one of the biggest stars on the team during the late 1990s and early 2000s before he was traded to the New York Yankees. Boone was a favorite of mine when I was a kid, and the popular “Booooooooooone” chant echoed throughout the stadium whenever he came up to bat. The Reds never gave out a bobblehead of him during his playing days, so hopefully the Reds Hall of Fame rights that wrong this year.

Those are my predictions for the five bobbleheads the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will give out to fans. Should my predictions prove to be true, I will be heading to the Reds Hall of Fame once a month to get each bobble. These are only predictions though, and no official bobblehead giveaway has been announced by the Reds Hall of Fame at the time that I wrote this. Until then, us Reds fans can only speculate and guess what kinds of bobbleheads the Reds Hall of Fame has planned for 2017.

Go Redlegs!

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2016 Cincinnati Reds Bobbleheads Predictions Part 2

Now 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.

For the most part, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum tries to incorporate some sort of theme into their bobblehead giveaways. For example, last season was the 25^th anniversary of the 1990 wire-to-wire Cincinnati Reds world championship season and as a result, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum gave out bobbleheads of players from that team. As far as I know, 2016 is not an anniversary year for the Reds so I have no idea what theme the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will have with their bobbleheads. Therefore, this list of predictions will have no theme and instead be a hodgepodge of legendary Reds figures.

I predict that the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will once again give out five different bobbleheads, and the first one to be distributed will be of 1990 Cincinnati Reds manger, Lou Piniella. “Sweet” Lou was one of the most popular managers in Reds history because of his fiery attitude and his guidance of the Reds to the 1990 World Series crown. I could not believe that he was not featured as a bobblehead this past year, and I think that the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will make up for that by featuring him as a bobblehead in 2016. Hopefully it will incorporate Piniella throwing a base!

Bobblehead number two will be of Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer is the only pitcher in history to throw back-to-back no-hitters and was part of the 1940 Cincinnati Reds World Series Championship team. He is without a doubt worthy of a bobblehead.

The third bobblehead will be of Fred Hutchinson. He was one of the most prolific managers in the history of the Reds as he helped usher in a period of winning baseball during a time in which getting into the playoffs was impossible when compared to today’s game, and he set the stage for the glory days of the Big Red Machine. He took the Reds to the 1961 World Series and had his number, 1, retired permanently by the team.

Fourth will be Jose Rijo. He was the MVP of the 1990 World Series, and his dominance on the pitching mound helped secure the fifth World Series crown in franchise history for the Reds. While he was not featured as a bobblehead last year, I believe that the Reds hall of Fame and Museum will make up for that in 2016.

The fifth and final bobblehead of 2016 for the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will be of Ted Kluszewski. He was one of the most popular players in Reds history and was known for cutting the sleeves off his jersey because his arms were so big. He was a coach under Sparky Anderson during the Big Red Machine era in the 1970’s during which he earned two World Series Championship rings, and his number, 18, was retired permanently by the Reds in 1998. I am shocked that “Big Klu” has never been featured as a nodder, and hopefully the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum rights this wrong in 2016.

Those are my Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobblehead predictions for 2016. If my predictions are correct, then I will definitely try to head to the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum to pick up every single bobblehead. Even if the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum goes with other Reds figures to immortalize as nodders, hopefully the people they choose will be fresh faces who have never been featured as a bobblehead. As a collector, I always hope for new people to be featured as bobbleheads as it makes collecting much more fun, and with an endless supply of Reds legends, the possibilities for great Reds Hall of Fame and Museum bobbleheads are mindboggling!