New Addition - Rocky

Here's another recent addition.  Rocky from the New Britain Rock Cats, former Twins affiliate.  If you have read my blog for a while, you'll know that a lot of minor league teams did 2 versions of the same bobblehead.  The first is the giveaway version (which this is) and the second is the retail version. Typically the only difference is the addition of a sponsor plaque.  I've had the retail version of this one for a while, but recently was able to add the SGA version to the collection!

New Addition - Doug Mientkiewicz

Here's another new add of mine, a very tiny Doug Mientkiewicz bobblehead.  This one comes from the New Britain Rock Cats several years ago.  This is the SGA version and they also did a retail version (same thing except no plaque on the base).  It's probably the smallest bobblehead I own!  

Sneak Peek - Byron Buxton Bobblehead

On Friday, July 8th, the Cedar Rapids Kernels are giving away a Byron Buxton bobblehead!  Buxton is a hugely popular player and Im sure this will go over quite well in the land of bobblehead collecting! This is the second giveaway bobblehead of Buxton (last year New Britain did one) and its the first of 2 bobbles for Byron this year (Chattanooga is doing one at the end of the month)!  The Kernels always do a great job with their bobbleheads and this one is no different, I love the look of it as its something a bit different, but perfect for Buxton, since he's a defensive stud!  For all of the Midwestern readers, Cedar Rapids isn't too far away!  Get your tickets here for the game!

New Collection - Replica Stadiums

While collecting bobbleheads I've drawn an interest to mini stadiums.  I think they are super cool, especially the older ones and ones with all sorts of detail.  I have several and again, I'm mainly collecting Minnesota based stadiums or ties to Minnesota (for instance, some of the ones you'll see are from the Twins minor league teams).  These are what I currently would like to add to my stadium collection.  I'm sure there are others out there that I haven't seen or don't know about - so if you have something you think might catch my eye - let me know!!

Up first are several replicas of current and past Twins minor league affiliates!

Cedar Rapids Kernels - Veterans Memorial Stadium

New Britain RockCats - New Britain Stadium

Portland Beavers - PGE Park

Quad Cities River Bandits - Modern Woodmen Park

Fort Wayne Wizards - Memorial Stadium

Even an Elvis Bobblehead

No, not the real Elvis...the Rocky version.  Rocky, the mascot for the New Britain Rock Cats got all "dressed up" as Elvis for his most recent bobblehead.  It's a cool bobblehead.  Obviously the Rock Cats being affiliated with the Twins for so many years (they aren't any longer) will always have my attention to some degree.  This SGA bobblehead is from August 2015 and I believe limited to 1000. Besides, its a cool mascot bobblehead too!

Ace Clean SGA Bobblehead

Here is a random SGA bobblehead from a New Britain Rock Cats game back in 2010.  I believe there were 500 of these.  Click here to read more about the giveaway.  Obviously this one doesn't have anything to do with Minnesota, as its not a minor league player, but the price was right, so I couldn't say no.  It's a rare one too...with only 500 out there, I'm glad one of those is now in my collection!

Keeping with the theme

No, not the theme of me never blogging anymore!  I'm sure most of you thought that at first.  The theme I'm sticking with - minor league & Northwoods league bobbles.  The next few blogs will be all minor league and northwoods bobbleheads!

First up, Twins "slugger" (notice the quotes please) Kennys Vargas.  This was a giveaway (limited to 1000) from the New Britain Rock Cats.  The Rock Cats are no longer affiliated with the Twins, but their fans know the Twins players, so here's their 3rd bobblehead this season (first 2 were Byron Buxton and David Ortiz).

Rare Tony Steven's Bobblehead - New Britain Rock Cats

Picked this bobblehead up a few weeks ago.  I had seen it before but never for a price I was willing to spend.  Finally found it and I'm happy to add this one.  There is quite a back story to Tony Stevens. Read more here and here.  Figured today is a pretty good day to blog about this specific bobblehead and Mr. Stevens himself.  Soon after the 9/11 attacks, Tony Stevens stopped playing minor league baseball and joined the Marines.

Thanks to everyone involved with our armed forces, have a wonderful and safe July 4th weekend.

Another Rock Cats Bobble?

Yep, another one!  David Ortiz, fan favorite for most any team he's every played on had a bobblehead day at New Britain a couple weeks ago.  Below is the bobblehead.  Ortiz, maybe more so than any other Twins player, has a ton of bobbleheads.  Several minor league bobbles and several major league ones with the Red Sox.  But being a former Twin, playing in New Britain, made me want this one for my collection!

Byron Buxton's first bobblehead

Byron Buxton, if you don't know who he is...you probably aren't a baseball fan at all and definitely not a Twins fan.  Click on his name to learn more.  The New Britain Rock Cats held a giveaway of a Buxton bobblehead earlier this season.  The Rock Cats are no longer an affiliate of the Twins, but their fans got to see Buxton play quite a bit!

 

Another Torii Minor League?

That's right, I picked up another Torii Hunter minor league bobble.  This is in fact an SGA.  It's from when he was with the New Britain Rock Cats.  I have another one, just like this, but its the retail version and doesn't have the plaque on the base.  I knew this one was out there but finally found it for sale!

Byron Buxton Bobblehead

If you don't know who Byron Buxton is, you probably don't live in Minnesota or don't listen to anything the Twins say.  They've been hyping this kid for about 3 years.  That hype is justified, but still pretty unfair for a 21 year old kid...ahem, with booming potential.

The New Britain Rock Cats (former AA affiliate of the Twins) did a giveaway bobblehead of Mr. Buxton this past Sunday, April 19th.  I believe this is Buxton's first ever SGA bobblehead.  I can't wait to add this one to my collection!

Wow...found it! AJ Pierzynski

This particular AJ Pierzynski bobblehead has been on my Want List for quite some time.  I found this one while doing some random searching about 2 years ago.  Since then, I haven't seen one.  2 weeks ago, my buddy Ross emailed me to let me know it was on eBay.  I put a bid on it and after 7 days, nobody else bid on it, so I got it.  Received it in the mail last week, with the original box and its in great shape.  The New Britain Rock Cats gave out this bobblehead several years ago.  This is a classic case that if you keep looking, eventually you'll find what you want (or get lucky - exactly how it happened for me).

Want List (Part 10)

This is my last post for Twins related bobbleheads I'd like to add to my collection.  I believe all of these are SGAs of former Twins players.  LaTroy Hawkins (Fort Wayne Wizards) makes another appearance and next to him is Lew Ford (New Britain Rock Cats).  Then we have Johan Santana (Savannah Sand Gnats) & Eric Milton (State College Spikes)!

Want List (Part 9)

Here are a few more Twins related bobbleheads that I'd eventually like to find.  First are a couple major leaguers, or umm, semi-major leaguers...you'll see what I mean by that in, 3...2...1

Yep, that's Aaron Hicks when he played for the Beloit Snappers and Trevor Plouffe when he was on the Rochester Red Wings roster.  I've seen these before, they aren't all that rare, I'm not willing to pay some sort of ridiculous amount for them tho!  Next we have a couple former Twins.  Gary Gaetti, the current manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters.  And a New Britain Rock Cats bobblehead of David Ortiz.  

Bobbleheads for Sale

A buddy of mine had an intriguing idea for my blog.  We, as bobblehead collectors, know there are several people looking to sell their bobbleheads.  Maybe they aren't collectors and only have a few, maybe they have duplicates they'd like to move or perhaps they are reducing their collection in general.  This page is specifically for to buy/sell bobbleheads from other blog readers.

I'll update the blog with pictures and pricing information.  If you see something you are interested in, leave a comment and the sale process begins!

Here are the first sets of pictures.  Remember, if you like something, leave a comment in the comments section and we'll go from there.  One more thing about all the pictures below, the seller is looking to sell these as sets only, he is not interested in breaking up any of the following groups.

Van & Cheryl (KS95) set - $35

Tom Lehman - $75

Rochester Red Wings (Twins AAA) set - $40

New Britain Rock Cats (Twins AA) set - SOLD

Sid Hartman set - $100

Jesse Ventura set - $200

Timberwolves Pepsi set - $50