For 2015, the Brewers have sold out multiple packages of promotional tickets – entitling fans to a bobblehead of Bob Uecker’s character from the film Major League and a bobblehead of catcher Jonathan Lucroy with a green light saber in his hand for Star Wars night. The Cincinnati Reds, meanwhile, have nine promotional bobblehead dates planned, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals each have eight. The Yankees are giving away four bobbleheads this year in the images of Masahiro Tanaka, Thurman Munson, Jacoby Ellsbury and Babe Ruth.
Every year we think we might have exhausted the bobblehead craze here in Wisconsin, and it doesn't happen.
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Bobblehead technology will also improve for 2015. The Brewers’ Uecker figurine has a chip in it that will belt out three phrases from Major League and the Cardinals’ Harry Caray bobblehead will also talk – a giveaway meant to honor the legendary voice of the rival Chicago Cubs.
The popularity of bobbleheads is far from a fad – plans were recently announced to open a National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee. The museum will host bobblehead events, autograph signings and mascot appearances, and it will include a bobblehead-themed restaurant. Alternatively, as an ongoing display, the Miami Marlins have a collection of about 600 baseball bobbleheads inside Marlins Park.
If bobbleheads aren’t what you’re looking for, though, MLB teams are offering quite a list of distinctive giveaways this year. A few top picks: Hisashi Iwakuma bear hats (Mariners) on April 25; BBQ branding irons (Twins) on May 25; and Star Wars-themed Death Star balls (Red Sox) on May 4 and R2D2 can coolers (Nationals) on July 19).
