Twins Top 10 List - #1

For those of you who know about this bobblehead, it was probably pretty easy to guess at it being number 1 on this list.  This is a real bobblehead and it was a gift to specific people who attended Carl Pohlad's 90th birthday party.  Only close friends and extremely high ranking Twins officials were invited.  Production run on these is said to be 50.  Good luck finding one and if you do, expect to pay an arm and both legs.  Limited to only 50 is absolutely crazy.

Twins Top 10 List - #2

This was definitely the number 2 bobblehead on my list.  The Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau dual red base bobble is one of the rarest of all Twins bobbleheads.  It was given to new season ticket holders who signed up at the Minnesota State Fair.  I've heard the production number on these to be around 200 (or less).  That doesn't surprise me at all since they are nearly impossible to find.

Twins Top 10 List - #3

I've blogged about the top 3 bobbles previously.  I picked the Kent Hrbek Outdoors bobble as my number 3 because it's a bit easier to find than either of the top 2 bobbles, but still extremely difficult to find.  These bobbleheads were table centerpieces during the 2007 ALS Gala where Carrier was the guest of honor.  Hrbek, the spokesman for Carrier loved the idea of a bobblehead and coupled with his past with the Twins and his Outdoors show, a bobblehead was born.  Good luck finding them, as they are extremely difficult to track down.  

Twins Top 10 List - #4

Here's another Harmon Killebrew bobblehead (c'mon, you can't be surprised).  This one is from the Killebrew-Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament several years ago.  The tournament is held in Sun Valley Idaho and benefits leukemia research.  This was one of the gifts to golfers, and most of them were signed by Harmon.  Obviously the signature bumps it up a couple notches on the Top 10 list.  I haven't seen one in quite some time and they definitely fetch a pretty penny!

Twins Top 10 List - #5

Everyone knows who Bert Blyleven is, he makes sure of that.  This is commonly referred to as the "Circle me Bert" bobblehead.  What many people don't know is that there are 2 versions (shown below).  The only difference is the color of his pants and of course the production run of each.  The blue pants version is out of 1987 (World Series win) and the tan pants is numbered out of 287 (career win total).  These were retail bobbles and did have COAs with them, they were sold to raise money for The Parkinson Association of Minnesota .  Of course number 5 is the more limited tan pants version.  I rarely see it available!

Twins Top 10 List - #6

I had a hard time placing this one within the top 10.  It'd definitely a top 10 Twins bobble, but it could have easily been number 4 and probably could have been 8 or 9 too.  I think there are a few reasons in my head that it end up at number 6.  First off, this is a retail bobblehead, typically this means it isn't rare nor valuable.  However, in this case, the Minnie & Paul dual is definitely both rare and valuable.  It's limited to 1008 and was sold for a sweet $29.99.  Hindsight says I should have bought every damn one of these that I could!  However, I didn't find my first set until a couple summers ago, at a garage sale.  Lots of collectors love this Twins bobble, many will say this is the best Twins bobblehead out there, its a nice heavy, well painted, solid AGP bobble!  

Twins Top 10 List - #7

A little foreshadowing - this isn't the only Harmon Killebrew bobble in the top 10.  Harmon grew up in Payette, Idaho where the city annually celebrates Harmon Killebrew Days!  This was a giveaway at one of the first Killebrew Days, depicting Harmon in his high school jersey.  I believe this one was limited to something around 250 (or less).  Obviously he's a local hero so these bobbles don't show up very often.  Luckily for me, mine is autographed!  

Twins Top 10 List - #8

This is the first dual bobblehead of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.  The Fort Myers Miracle did this giveaway in 2007, its a bit smaller than the typical 7 inch variety.  I'm guessing this one is about 5 inches in height, so not a true "mini."  I think the production run on this one was 500, one of the rarest but when it comes to minor league bobbles, they typically don't do more than 1000 and a lot of collectors don't collect minor league bobbles.  It's definitely getting harder and harder to find, especially in good condition!  

Twins Top 10 List - #9

Herb Carneal's only bobblehead is number 9 on my Twins Top 10 list.  I don't know a ton about this bobble, but I believe it was a "Make a Wish" charity/promotional bobblehead in the mid 2000s. Originally these came with a COA, but very rarely do you find them with the bobblehead, especially one of this rarity.  

Twins Top 10 List - #10

Obviously this is an entirely objective list.  I do feel like I have plenty of knowledge when it comes to Twins bobbleheads.  I think most people will agree on the top 3 (order might be different to some). The same most likely can't be said for the last few in my top 10 list.  I'm not basing this ranking purely off of value either.  Let's be honest, when it comes to rare bobbleheads, the value is whatever someone is willing to pay.  Hypothetically I might have paid for the #5 overall bobblehead than #2.  I think this list compiles the 10 toughest to find Twins bobbles.  

Checking in at number 10 is the Joe Mauer Friends and Family bobblehead.  Even tho this bobblehead has a red base, it is an SGA bobble.  Given specifically to people in the "Mauer Friends & Family" group (basically your game ticket said "Mauer Friends/Family").  All 10 of these bobbleheads are rare, otherwise they wouldn't be in this list.  This one is numbered out of 2500.  

Ugh...It's been way too long!

So, its been almost 3 weeks since I've blogged.  Completely unacceptable.  I've got several blog posts lined up...but they don't count because they are just in my head.  Hopefully the wait has been somewhat worth it.  Let's be honest, my real hope is that all my readers will come back and check out the next "series" I have lined up.  Starting tomorrow, I'm doing series of the top 10 Minnesota Twins related bobbleheads.  So, check back often as the full list of 10 will be posted by the end of the month!