New Addition - Lawson Software Bobblehead

As most of my readers know the best part of my collection lately has focused on the random Minnesota bobbleheads I've found.  This one fits perfectly into that collection subset.  I hadn't seen this one before so obviously picked it up when I saw it online.  I don't know much about it, but Im sure it was given to Lawson software employees or higher ups for some reason or another.  Lawson was founded in Minneapolis in 1975 and was purchased by its current parent company, Infor in 2011.

New Addition - Bemidji State Beavers

There are 3 different Bemidji State bobbleheads (that I know of).  The first one was easy for me to find, but the other 2 have taken a while to locate.  Here's the second one of the "mini" collection.  I recently found this one online and had no problem pulling the trigger.  I'm sure I could have found it cheaper had I waited but in the end, I no longer have to look for this one!  Nice quality bobble of Bucky the Beaver.  

New Addition - Nick Leddy

The New York Islanders gave out 10,000 Nick Leddy bobbleheads back in February.  Being a local Minnesota kid as well as a former Gopher it was "easy" for me to add this one to my collection, even tho he's wearing an Islanders sweater.  I've contemplated getting another one and customizing it with Gopher colors, but we'll see.  I have a few other custom projects in the works right now.  

A Bobble what?

One of my latest new additions isn't exactly a bobblehead.  It's of former Twins minor leaguer - Tommy Watkins.  Instead of a bobblehead, its a bobble-butt.  That's right, his butt bobbles.  Watkins was a very popular player in the Twins farm system and this promo was done for the Fort Myers Miracle back in 2003.  Its by far one of the more unique giveaways and certainly fits my bobblehead collection to some degree!

2016 Bobbleheads - Cedar Rapids Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels announced they are doing a Byron Buxton bobblehead giveaway this season.  July 8th is the day and it'll be given to the first 1000 fans.  Im sure this one will be a popular one.  As always, once I get pictures of the giveaways I'll update this post.  Thats the only bobblehead the Kernels are doing this year, but as Twins fans we should be excited for it!

2016 Bobbleheads - St. Paul Saints

I had a feeling the Saints (and other independent teams out there) will be doing bobbleheads related to the Presidential Election this year.  I received confirmation this morning that bobblelection bobbles will indeed be given away at Saints games this season.  I'm unsure of the date(s), but I'll of course pass them along once I have accurate information.

So get ready for bobbleheads featuring (most likely) either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

2016 Bobblehead Update

As I mentioned in a blog post about a week ago, click the link to read it, teams will be announcing their promotional schedules over the next several weeks.  When I hear about bobbleheads I'll be sure to write a blog post.  Accordingly when I hear teams aren't doing bobbleheads (that have in the past) I'll also pass along that information.

Unfortunately this post is more of the latter.  I recently communicated with the Rochester Honkers and sadly to say they won't be doing any bobblehead giveaways this season.  Last year they did 2 different versions of their mascot, Slider.  I know a big part of minor league, northwoods league and independent league baseball promotions is finding sponsors for specific promotions.  

Pepsi One Mascot Bobbleheads (Update)

Back in 2014 I wrote a blog about the Pepsi One Mascot Bobblehead Set.  It's one of my most read blog entries.  Click here to review it!  I've been contemplating writing another blog relating to this bobblehead set and today is the day.  Why would I blog about it a second time, besides it being a popular read and a popular set, I do have some new information.

Hopefully you clicked the link above because I'm not restating much from the previous blog.  I've been helping several different collectors complete this collection.  I think at the moment it stands at 5 different people that are searching for these bobbles and I've completed the set for another 4-5 people. I wouldn't be surprised if more people contacted me looking for specific bobbleheads from this set, as I do come across them fairly regularly.  You'll see from the previous blog that a lot of the extras ended up in Maple Plain, MN.

I met one of the guys that "saved" hundreds of these bobbleheads.  Him and a buddy of his were working out of this warehouse when several of the warehouse workers were dumping box after box of these into the dumpster.  He literally asked them to stop what they were doing as he wanted to take them all home if they were simply going to be thrown away.  After getting the "ok" from management, he saved hundreds (if not a thousand) of these mascot bobbles.  Between him and his friend they estimate they each took home between 30 and 60 boxes.  And when I say "boxes" I mean shipping boxes that contained anywhere between 18 and 24 bobbleheads in each box.  That number adds up pretty quickly, eh?

Since I try to be as accurate as possible, I was thrilled to have met this guy and get his first hand account of what happened.  I had heard the same story through other sources but never from THE source, which is what I wanted.  Here are a couple pictures of the set, missing one (Kansas State).

Sneak Peek - Brian Dozier Bobblehead (Beloit Snappers)

We are in full swing of minor league and independent baseball teams releasing their promotional schedules for the upcoming season.  Many run social media "events" where they ask for so many likes, reposts, comments and then unveil the promo (the Twins did the same thing before they released their full promo schedule).  The Beloit Snappers are giving away a Brian Dozier bobblehead on June 19th, it'll be sponsored by TruGreen.  The Snappers are a former Twins affiliate - hence the Dozier giveaway.  Based on the last several bobbles the Snappers have done, this one will most likely be a 5-6 inch version, so not a true full size bobble, but much bigger than a mini.

Sneak Peek - Chris Doleman Bobblehead!!

The Vikings (as with all NFL teams) don't do SGA bobbleheads.  There really is no need, they don't do giveaways in general as most teams sellout all their home games without the promotion angle. However, some other professional and semi-professional teams do giveaways of football players.

Minor league baseball teams are the best at coming up with completely awesome and unique bobbleheads.  As one minor league marketing manager told me, "creativity is the life force of minor league baseball!" That simple message speaks volumes about the promotions most teams do during the summer.

Luckily for all Minnesota Vikings fans and bobblehead collectors, the York Revolution is giving away a Chris Doleman bobblehead this summer.  Doleman went to school at York High, (technically, William Penn Senior High School) and obviously went on to be one of the best Vikings of all-time. It's the Revolution's 10th anniversary so they are doing some wonderful giveaways and Doleman (depicted wearing his York High football jersey) is one of the best!

Book your tickets now to get to York on June 3rd!  The first 1500 people will get the Doleman bobblehead.  Here's the link to buy tickets to the giveaway game.  And lastly, check out the picture below, pretty sweet football related bobblehead eh!?!  SKOL!!!

Trevor Plouffe Skywalker Star Wars Bobblehead

I knew it was happening soon, but didn't expect the announcement today (kind of expected it yesterday).  The Twins announced their theme night giveaways today.  I previously blogged about one of these theme nights being bobblehead related.  Plenty of people debated who the Star Wars bobblehead would be.  I don't think many people thought it would be Trevor Plouffe, but I'm not unhappy with this at all.  Plouffe hasn't had a Twins bobblehead yet and he's more deserving than some other players.  I think a lot of people were hoping for a Buxton Star Wars bobble.

Just like last year's version (Phil Hughes), you have to order special tickets that are sold on a limited basis.  Plenty of other theme night stuff is available too, but obviously the bobblehead is what I'm all about!