Joe Mauer Prototype

Wow, its been a long time since I posted a blog.  Not sure if blogging is still a thing (probably not) but this one deserved a post!  A fellow collector of mine found this one several years ago.  Upon selling some of his collection, he knew I'd like this one so we made a deal for it.  Its definitely a prototype made by BDA.  This was made for the 2014 season when Target Field hosted the All Star Game.  I believe this Mauer bobble was originally offered to the Twins as a potential giveaway that year.  They pivoted to do a Harmon Killebrew instead.  You'll see the similarities between the two bobblehead icons.  

Safe to say, this Joe Mauer bobble is one of my new all-time favorites.  

Harmon Killebrew Bobblehead - Payette Version 2

I plan on blogging about some rare Minnesota bobbleheads over the next couple of months.  I've gotten some questions recently about misc giveaways and whats rare and whats not, why and why not, etc.  So I figured, why not blog about them.  So am sharing my knowledge on several.  And I will say, just because its rare, doesn't mean its valuable.  Rarity and Value do not always coincide.  Supply and Demand determine value.  Quantity available determines rarity.  

Here is one of the rarest Harmon Killebrew bobbles there is.  This comes from Payette, Idaho and Harmon Killebrew Days.  This is the second version and much rarer than the first.  Many of these broke in shipping and were destroyed.  It's also a relatively unknown bobblehead because of the rarity.  Prices on this one can be all over the board.  Ones in less that optimal condition will come in around $50ish while ones in nice condition can easily fetch 3 figures!  

Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame Bobblehead Set

Well, I never officially retired so I don't need to file the paperwork to unretire.  But it has been a long time, which was never my intent.  But, life happens, 2 little girls happen and before you know it they are both talking, running and getting into trouble.  Priorities change, so the blog had to be put on the back burner.  Im hopeful this post spurs a little in me to find the time to blog a bit more often (probably never to the degree that I once did) but once, sometimes twice a week.  Thats my goal.  

Now, onto the topic at hand.  Today, the Twins sold their 5th "set" of bobbleheads.  This set is based on the players and team members that make up the 34 people in the Twins Hall of Fame.  It's a very impressive set and definitely from the picture, the most detailed and best looking set of the bunch.  Ever since I heard about this since a few days ago, I've been giddy.  

Based on the hero image of the 5 bobbles displayed (Killebrew, Carew, Puckett, Kelly and Hunter) the design and creativity of each is impressive.  Im sure the others will be just as awesome.  (When I'm able to share more pictures, I certainly will).  With a price tag north of $500 (after taxes) it's certainly a set that made people contemplate how to go about collecting it.  Several people I know were only looking to get a handful of players.  Others said at this time (during this damn pandemic) it was just too expensive.  Then others, like myself who are completists, knew we needed it and had to figure out a way to pay for it.  Proceeds (just like the previous 4 sets) benefit the Twins Community Fund.  

In the collecting world, people are raving about this set, even if they aren't Twins collectors or fans, they are wishing their favorite team would do something similar.  I tend to think, we'll see more of these come out over the next couple of years.  

I certainly wonder what will happen to future electees, they'll get a giveaway bobble (as is typical of the Twins the past few years) but I certainly hope there are update sets to this one in the future!  For now, lets appreciate the Twins and their marketing/promotions team for making this happen.  They've been hitting home run after home run the past few years and it certainly appears they aren't slowing down anytime soon.  

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 - #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!  

Harmon Killebrew Payette Bobblehead

This is a new addition of mine.  A pretty rare Harmon Killebrew bobblehead from Payette, Idaho.  Killebrew grew up in Payette and this is the first edition of a Killebrew Payette bobblehead.  This is an extremely scarce bobble and rarely is seen for anything under $150.  The autograph, like most of Killebrew's is as solid as they come.  Pretty sweet bobble!!  

The Newest Harmon Killebrew Bobblehead!!

Twins great Harmon Killebrew has several bobbleheads.  This is the most recent version, given away by the Chattanooga Lookouts (and 2nd one from Chattanooga) earlier this summer.  The base might look familiar as this was produced by Success Promotions - which I'll say again, make great bobbleheads.  1000 of these were given away and I'm happy to say I was able to get one.  Their marketing team is tremendous.

2014 Spring/Summer Finds #2

Number 2 on my 2014 Spring/Summer Finds list is a moving sale I found earlier this summer.  The gentleman that was moving, was truly getting rid of everything.  He wasn't necessarily a collector but had lots and lots of bobbleheads as well as a ton of other sports memorabilia.  We had emailed a couple times and he told me the names of guys he had.  I knew he had some good bobbleheads, but wasn't sure just how good they were.  When names like Puckett, Hrbek and Killebrew get thrown out there, I'm sure everyone hopes for the first year bobbleheads.  But we all know that each player has several bobbleheads and really the first year (both SGA and STH) are the ones worth good money.  

Knowing he wanted to move them, I was intrigued, so I went to the sale and bought several bobbleheads.  I had a great time chatting with him and learning more about his "collection" even tho he repeatedly said he wasn't really a collector.  

I came away with about 14 bobbleheads.  Below is a picture of the best set.  

That's right, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek and Harmon Killebrew.  On top of those 4, I also picked up a couple of the 1965 Ecumen bobbleheads and a complete set of the 2001 SGA set that includes Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven and Dave Winfield!  Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.  On that summer day, I was 100% lucky.  

2014 Spring/Summer Finds #3

Earlier this summer one of the first good finds I had was at a garage sale in Farmington.  They had several bobbleheads, mainly Twins, but a few othe random ones as well.  There are a couple reasons that this sits at #3 on my top 5 Spring/Summer Finds list.  The first, I was able to add a couple bobbleheads to my collection.  One (or should I say 2) is a bit more rare than the others.  This one was extremely cheap, actually a bit cheaper than great garage sale prices!  So I lucked out on it!  This is a retail AGP Minnie and Paul bobblehead set.  They are shaking hands (held together by magnets).

I bought several and there was a Twins nesting doll set that was intriguing.  Because I love to wheel and deal, before I accepted the sellers price for all of the ones I was buying I asked him to throw in the nesting doll set.  He had no problem doing it.  I had 2 thoughts - it was cool and possibly rare/unique.  The cool factor meant that at the very least I'd keep it for my own collection.  I hadn't ever seen one like it before but I don't really search for things other than bobbleheads.  I did a little google research and that turned up zero, which was either good news or terrible news.  I went to a local sports collectibles store and talked to the owner.  He said he had seen them before but not for quite a while and offered me $50 cash for it.  At that point I knew I had something that was somewhat unique and valuable.  Add to it that it contained the biggest of big Twins names (Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek & Gary Gaetti) I knew I'd eventually sell it on eBay.  

2014 Spring/Summer Finds #5

I'm doing a 5 part series counting down my 5 best finds from the 2014 Spring and Summer.  At times I won't be able to tell you where I found the specific item, not because I don't want to, but because I don't remember!

Coming in at #5 is a Joe Mauer Autographed bobblehead.  This was a bittersweet find.  I had went to an estate sale with some knowledge that several bobbleheads would be for sale and for pretty good prices.  Notably, first year SGAs of Puckett, Hrbek, and possibly Killebrew.  I knew for a fact the Puckett and Hrbek were there and had heard the Killebrew was also for sale as well as 15-20 other Twins bobbleheads.

If you haven't been to an estate sale, they can be quite frustrating.  Not knowing where anything is located, the mad rush of people trying to get in to find those special treasures they value and at times unhelpful people who run the sale.  At other times, estate sales are wonderful.  This one fell somewhere in between.

I was lead to believe the bobbleheads were displayed (which to me, they would have been easily noticeable).  This was not the case at all.  They ended up being in their plain white boxes within another larger box, on the floor AND under a table.  A few were displayed but not the ones I was hoping to snag.  I scoured the house for 5-7 minutes before walking out.  When I was about to leave I saw the box.  There were about 10 bobbleheads left.  Another guy had spotted it before me (obviously) but the one he didn't take was a Mauer Autograph bobblehead (seen below).  I fully believe the guy saw Mauer and didn't take it out of the box to look at it.  Once I saw the auto, I knew I was buying it.  I bought a couple others for a decent price and went on my way.

This was a nice find, but I was hoping for more so I did leave a bit disappointed.

Minnesota Twins - 1st Edition SGAs vs 1st Edition STHs

I've had several people ask me about the difference between SGAs and STHs.  For the most part its super easy to tell, green base bobbleheads are the giveaways while red base bobbleheads were given to season ticket holders.  However, one major hurdle is the 1st Edition of each set, as they both had green bases.

Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva and Kirby Puckett make up each set.  The SGA set was given out in 2000 while the STH set was given out the following year.  There are a couple great features with both sets.  This is by far the best quality set the Twins did, both in terms of the quality of the bobblehead specifically as well as the uniqueness of each one.  Each player has different jerseys (where as most of the more recent sets - the same jerseys appear with the only difference being a red base vs. a green base).

The hard thing is remembering the exact jersey of each player to tell if its a SGA or STH.  There is a much easier way to tell the difference of each.  The base of the SGA says "Mountain Dew" (they sponsored the set) while the base of the STH says the last name of each player. THAT is the best way to tell which edition of bobblehead you are viewing.  Below is a comparison picture, on the top is the SGA set while the STH set on the bottom.

Final 2014 ASG Bobblehead - Glen Perkins

Before the 2014 season, the Twins announced there would be 4 bobblehead giveaway days.  The first 3 were Harmon Killebrew, Lou Gehrig & Tom Brunansky.  Here are a couple links to previous blogs I've posted regarding this set of bobbleheads.

2014 Twins Bobbleheads Announced

Mystery ASG Bobblehead - Not so mysterious anymore

Once Perkins was named to the All Star Team, in my mind it was a foregone conclusion that on September 6th, people would be lining up hours in advance of game time to get their hands on a Perk bobblehead.  The Twins announced it was Perkins earlier this month and now we have a picture to go along with the announcement.  (Credit to my buddy Zane for the Perkins Tweet with picture!)

I've been advocating for a Perkins bobblehead since the Twins announced it was a "to be determined" bobblehead.  I'm certainly a happy camper with the news.  I've never met Glen Perkins (certainly would love the chance), but he seems like a down to earth guy (love listening to his weekly appearances on 1500 with Mackey & Judd).  He's also a former Gopher and obviously he's a stud closer!  Hopefully there are more bobbleheads in the future for Perkins.

Cooperstown Collection Surprise!

Forever Collectibles released a "Cooperstown Collection" back in 2003.  Included in it were former Twins stars, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew.  I'm not big on the retail bobbleheads, I certainly have some, but for the most part I like the giveaways.  When I started collecting, I saw these from time to time.  They typically went for between $50 and $100.  At that point, the only way I was going to pick these 2 up for my collection were garage sales or to get lucky.

Well I got lucky at garage sales.  I just picked up the Carew at a garage sale 2 weeks ago and I had gotten the Killebrew at a sale about 5 weeks ago.  Carew didn't come in the original box but Killebrew did.  The box was pristine and looking at the bobblehead, it was even better than that - so I didn't take it out of the box.  In prepping for my blog I had to get pictures of each bobblehead.  I was amazed at what I saw.

Yep, a Killebrew autograph on the back of the bobblehead.  I was absolutely giddy when I saw this.  And it was completely dumb luck on my part.  I was buying it at the garage sale either way so I didn't even take it out of the box!

These were limited to 5000 each and I believe Forever Collectibles named this series Legends of the Park, Cooperstown Collection.  I've heard there were 10 players in this series, not sure of the other 8, but these are the 2 Twins.

1965 Heroes Ecumen SGA Set

Recently I was able to complete the SGA Ecumen set.  I've blogged previously about this set and one extremely similar.  Check out those blogs at the following links.

1965 Heroes Katrina Set
Minnesota Twins SGA Bobblehead Set (Part 6 - Year 2005)
Twinsfest = Success
1965 Heroes vs. 1965 Katrina
Minnesota Twins Bobblehead Sets (Part 1 of 4)

I feel this set is the hardest set to complete of any Twins bobbleheads.  August 21st, 2005 was a giveaway day.  Similar to all other giveaway days, the Twins were giving away 10,000 bobbleheads.  However, they changed it up for this day by giving away 1000 bobbleheads of 10 different players from the 1965 team. Included in the set were, Zoilo Versalles, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Tony Oliva, Earl Battey, Frank Quilici, Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, and Jim Kaat.  Even if you had 10 tickets you weren't guaranteed of getting all 10 bobbleheads.  I know of several people who had 20-25 tickets and came away with 6 or 7 different bobbleheads, but not all 10.  

When my passion for this crazy collection started I figured the "1965 Heroes Ecumen" set might never get completed and I was ok with that.  I actually passed up a few of these early on because I didn't plan on trying to collect the entire set (as many of these go for over $100 each on eBay) and although Jess is an amazing wife...getting her to "be cool" with me spending a grand on 10 bobbleheads wasn't going to happen! 

I got a couple of these for super cheap at garage sales, then I got 6 more at Twinsfest 2014 and once that happened I knew I'd be able to complete the set in time.  I honestly didn't think it'd happen in 2014.  I kinda figured over several years I'd find deals on them and eventually have the complete set.  Of course the one I couldn't find was the most expensive of them all...Harmon Killebrew - no introduction necessary.  

Luckily a few weeks ago I found this one to complete the set.  Below is a picture, front and back of the set.

And here's a comparison of the front of the 1965 Ecumen set vs the Katrina set.  

Harmon Killebrew Bobblehead Night

Killebrew bobblehead night was this past Friday, the 20th of June.  Since Killebrew is such a fan favorite, I knew there would be lots of bobbleheads on eBay and Craigslist!  However, there are even more than I thought.  There are several on Craigslist, ranging from $45 to $100 or so.  There are roughly 40 or so listed on eBay (as of this blog post).  And of the bobbleheads that have already been sold, $40 has been the lowest they've gone for, while the most expensive one sold for just over $72.  Based on that, the Craigslisters are asking a bit too much.  $30-35 is a good cash price, otherwise, hold out and set your buying limit at $40 on eBay.  eBay usually sees the same trends from popular giveaways, the first few go for about double of whatever the average price is a few days after the giveaway.  That'll last for a couple weeks, then they won't pop up nearly as often.  At that point, all bets are off as far as price goes.  You'll see some sell for $25 while others will probably fetch something close to $75.

My advice - be patient.

Update - 2014 Twins Bobbleheads

Happy Friday the 13th.  I have a quick update with pictures of the 3 bobbleheads we know about that the Twins are giving away this season.  Please read this blog for more information on the bobblehead giveaways. Since I came up with pictures (special thanks to the Twins social media team) I wanted to get this posted right away!

Here are the pictures!  Tom Brunansky, Harmon Killebrew and Lou Gehrig!

Lou Gehrig & Tom Brunansky Bobbleheads

Back in February I blogged about the 2014 Minnesota Twins SGA bobblehead games.  At that time we know there would be 4 bobblehead giveaways (later changed to 5 with the Sid Hartman giveaway). Harmon Killebrew on June 20th, Lou Gehrig on July 4th, Tom Brunansky on July 5th and a bobblehead celebrating a player named to this year's All-Star game.  Click the hyperlink above to read that blog.  At the time I was excited to see what the bobbleheads would look like.  We now know what 2 of them will look like or at least what they appear to look like based on the Twins promotional site.  Below are pictures of the Brunansky and Gehrig bobbleheads.  You'll notice both have a brown base, not a surprise on the Gehrig bobble, but somewhat of one regarding Brunansky.  I was expecting the typical green base.  Check 'em out!

(Sorry about the poor quality...once I find better quality pictures, I'll update this post)

Minnesota Twins ST Bobblehead Set (Part 6 - Year 2006)

The 2006 ST set is probably my favorite.  It includes 4 players from the 65 Heroes set.  Earl Battey, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison.  It's a really good looking set, part of the reason I like this set so much are the uniforms.  This set is also unique because the full 2006 ST set is actually 5 bobbleheads, but the 5th, Zoilo Versalles wasn't part of the 4 bobblehead set.  The only ticket holders that got him were the ones who purchased a specific season ticket plan and seats. Because of that, the entire 5 bobblehead set is very tough to put together.  I recently added the Versalles bobblehead to my collection.

Below I've uploaded the comparison picture of the 2006 ST set and the 2005 SGA set.  You'll notice that I only have 3 of the SGA bobbleheads because the other is the group of 10 1965 Heroes bobbleheads, which I'll blog about at a later date!

Minnesota Twins ST Bobblehead Set (Part 1 - Year 2001)

In March I did a 13 part series on each SGA bobblehead by year.  I'm doing another series showing the season ticket holder bobbleheads from every year.  These bobbleheads are given to full and partial season ticket holders.  Partial season ticket holders would only get 1 or 2 of these bobbleheads while full season ticket holders could get the entire set.

2001 is the first year the Twins gave season ticket holders a set of bobbleheads.  As you can see there isn't much difference in the 4 bobbleheads when compared to the 2000 SGA bobbleheads!  Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva and Kirby Puckett make up the set of 4 bobbleheads.  Much like its 2000 SGA sibling set, this is one of the hardest ST sets to complete!  Why you ask?  Mainly because of the Hrbek and Killebrew bobbleheads (just like the SGAs!).

Below is a comparison of the SGA and ST sets.  You can see each bobblehead is almost the same with the main differences being a uniform change.  Also, the easiest way to tell if any of these 4 bobbleheads are ST or SGA...ST have the players last name on the front of the base.

Minnesota Twins SGA Bobblehead Set (Part 1 - Year 2000)

The set that started the bobblehead craze in Minnesota.  To this day, its still the toughest Twins SGA set to complete.  Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva, and Kirby Puckett.  Only 5,000 bobbleheads were made for Killebrew and Hrbek, while they upped that amount to 10,000 for Oliva and Puckett.  Theoretically that means there are only 5000 complete sets out there.  This is always why the Killebrew and Hrbek bobbleheads are more spendy that Oliva or Puckett.