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.  

Sneak Peek - Torii Hunter Fort Myers Miracle

The 4th in a set of 5 Miracle bobbleheads is Torii Hunter!  One of the most popular Twins players will go home with the first 1000 lucky fans in Fort Myers today!

New Addition - Torii Hunter Gold Glove

I've been looking for this Torii bobblehead for quite some time!  About a year ago I thought I had a lead on it, it quickly faded and I kept looking.  A few other collectors knew I was looking for it and luckily was able to get it thru one of them.  I don't know a ton about it, there is a "gold glove" set that Forever Collectibles did - I believe the set consists of 9 or 10 bobbleheads total, but the one I really wanted was Torii.  It's about 9 inches tall and the detail is amazing!!  Happy to finally add this one to the collection!

Wanted - Twins Retail Bobbleheads

Here are 4 collages of bobbleheads I'm looking for.  All of these are retail bobbles, most likely sold in the mid 2000s (based on the players).  I've had many of these in the past but at the time I was only searching for giveaway and season ticket bobbleheads.  However, since I have all of them, I've now started to put together these sets.  Please reach out to me if you have any of these, I can trade you from the plethora of what I have now or can outright buy.  The first picture contains Shannon Stewart (I have a lead on this) and 2 different Eddie Guardado bobbles (white jersey and grey jersey).  Second picture is Jacque Jones, Brad Radke and AJ Pierzynski.  Third picture are 2 duals, 1 is Rod Carew & Torii Hunter, the other is Doug Mientkiewicz & Torii Hunter and then a single Torii Hunter bobble.  Last we have 4 different Torii Hunter bobbles, the first 2 are similar, one with a white jersey the other is a grey jersey and gold base.  Then 2 different batting poses, first is a swinging pose and the other is Torii's batting stance.  Thank you in advance!!! 

Sneak Peek - Torii Hunter Fort Myers Miracle (4th of 5)

Torii gets the nod as the 4th bobblehead in this series of 5 from the Fort Myers Miracle.  Hunter is one of the most popular Twins ever and definitely deserving of this bobblehead honor, on July 21st.  The depiction of him tipping his cap to his fans is pretty awesome!  Last up is Byron Buxton!

Sneak Peek - Jose Berrios Fort Myers Miracle (3rd of 5)

Next up in the series is Jose Berrios!  The Miracle are giving away this bobblehead on June 30th.  The up and coming Twins starter is popular here and most likely just as popular in Fort Myers!  Next on the list is the one and only Torii Hunter! 

Fort Myers Miracle Bobblehead Set

I'm pleased to announce the Fort Myers Miracle are doing a bobblehead set this season.  The set will consist of 5 current and former Twins.  Obviously all 5 of those players have Miracle ties as well.  I've included these dates on front page of my blog, but here they are again. 

Brian Dozier - April 14th
Joe Mauer - May 19th
Jose Berrios - June 30th
Torii Hunter - July 21st
Byron Buxton - September 1st

A lot of times, minor league teams do various bobbleheads that have a connection to any of the teams they've been affiliated with the past and plenty that are local celebrities.  As a Twins fan, I'm super excited about this set of 5. 

After speaking with a highly credible source, it was interesting to learn about the process a minor league team goes through.  The team requests to do specific players.  Once the Twins review that request, they provide a handful of pictures of each player to base the bobblehead from.  The minor league team picks the jersey and the Miracle are trying to do poses that represent each player the best.  For example, the Joe Mauer bobblehead is in a batting pose while the Byron Buxton bobblehead will be in a fielding pose.  More to come as I plan on blogging about each individual player and hopefully will have picture evidence of them as well. 

New Add - Torii Hunter Powder Blue Custom

Here's another new addition.  It's a customized Torii Hunter Angels SGA bobblehead.  I didn't customize it...I don't have the skill set to do amazing work like this.  In one of the groups I'm in, I found a lady who has a ton of talent and made a trade with her. 

I have a small sub-set of customized powder blue bobbleheads, this fits perfectly!! 

New Addition - Torii Hunter Bobble-Arm

Up until several months ago, I thought I had all Torii Hunter giveaway bobbleheads that I wanted.  I don't count his bobbleheads while with the Angels or Tigers...but minor league ones can be different, unique and well, just more creative than a lot of major league teams' bobbleheads.  This one hits each of those bullets. 

The Orem Owlz gave away this bobble-arm in 2010.  I saw a picture of it online several months ago and immediately it was one of my most wanted bobbleheads.  I found it online and quickly snatched it up, knowing I wasn't the only one that had to be looking for it.  From what I can tell, only a few have been for sale over the past several years.  Quite happy to add this one to my collection!

2018 Twins Bobbleheads

I've been informed that the Twins will be doing at least 3 bobbleheads during the 2018 season, 1 of which will be a Star Wars themed bobble. 

I can only assume that there will be 6 total, just like the past few years.  Star Wars Theme Night.  4 Giveaways and then lastly the Sweet Spot Season Ticket Holder bobblehead.  They've done 4 giveaway bobbles the past few seasons and I think that trend continues in 2018.  The question is WHO they will be. 

My hunch, Sano or Buxton (I'll put my money on Buxton) is the Star Wars bobble.  The 4 giveaways are truly up in the air.  I'm guessing they will do a bobblehead of whichever player is inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame (as thats been standard lately).  Torii Hunter was 2 years ago, Michael Cuddyer was this past season, how about Justin Morneau in 2018?  Buxton or Sano will get a bobblehead, Berrios should get one as well.  Which leaves 1 more bobble and my hope is its a throwback to a former member of the club, Frank Viola, celebrating the 20th anniversary of his best season with the Twins. 

Torii Hunter Bobblehead Day

The Twins are giving away 10,000 Torii Hunter Hall of Fame bobbleheads today!  Torii is a big time fan favorite and I'm guessing people will be down at Target Field a bit early today.  This one will be especially collectible for a variety of reasons.  Let's start with the obvious - it's Torii.  People love him.  Second, its known as a "wall catch" bobblehead.  Plenty of collectors of subsets in their collection for specific types of bobbleheads, the "wall catch" bobbles fit that subset.  Another subset that some collectors love is a the "hall of fame" aspect.  Even tho its just the Twins Hall of Fame, it's still an HOF and other collectors will want it for this.  A third subset category is the "Gold Glove" touch.  Hunter was a wonderful defensive center fielder and won 9 consecutive Gold Glove awards and several collectors love their "Gold Glove" subset!  Lastly, Torii has been a fan favorite everywhere he's went, so he has plenty of fans outside of Minnesota.  I think the Twins did a really good job with this bobble!

2016 Twins Bobblehead Rundown!

Here's the complete rundown of all 2016 Twins SGA bobbleheads!

Sneak Peek - Torii Hunter

If you've checked out the slideshow on the top right of the blog, you've probably already seen this bobblehead, but if not, here's a quick Sneak Peek at the Torii Hunter bobble the Twins are giving out on July 16th, get your tickets here!  It'll be a "Twins Hall of Fame" bobble, of course with Torii making one of his "routine" wall catches.  It also appears that he's wearing a Gold Glove too!

2016 Twins Bobbleheads Announced

The Twins released their promotional schedule this morning.  I knew there would be 4 bobbleheads but other than the vintage one, there hadn't been any talk about who the other 3 would be.  Now we know.

Saturday June 18th - Miguel Sano Bobblehead
Saturday July 2nd - Ervin Santana Bobblehead
Saturday July 16th - Torii Hunter HOF Bobblehead
Sunday July 31st - Vintage Bobblehead

There should be 1 more SGA bobblehead this season, but it'll be a special event ticket giveaway with a Star Wars theme, just like Phil Hughes last year.  Obviously I'll blog on that when it's announced!

Torii Hunter Season Ticket Bobblehead

So the Twins are at it again, this year giving out a limited edition Torii Hunter bobblehead to select Season Ticket Holders through their "Sweet Spot" program.  A couple have already sold on eBay for $100.  They say only 1300 were produced, which is less than last year's edition (Brian Dozier - 1500) and the year before (Joe Mauer - 2500).

Here's the detail from the Twins and once I have the bobblehead I'll take a close-up!

So the picture is just of the box, but I promise the Hunter bobblehead is inside!

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!

Twinsfest 2015

I pretty much foreshadowed this in my previous blog entry, you can read it, here.  I didn't take one freaking damn picture!  Not one...zero, nada zilch.  Ugh.  I called it without even truly thinking I called it.  So...for any of you looking forward to pictures...my bad, I'm sorry!  

I was done working a little early on Friday so I decided to drive down to Target Field and wait in line with the die-hards.  Luckily I was behind a couple guys that made the wait go by pretty quick.  Plenty of Twins stories were shared, both minor league stories and plenty about the big club.  We talked about the signings from this past off-season and what we all look forward to at Twinsfest.  

A buddy of mine got there about 40 minutes after I did and we met up inside Target Field.  Walked around all over, saw the clubhouse, said hello to Torii Hunter as he was walking to one of his billion appearances for the weekend.  Checked out the yard sale, the collectors showcase and several other things too.  I really didn't have a favorite part.  I just find it to be pretty cool to be at Target Field in January!  

Remember, the Twins Community Fund is where all proceeds from this weekend go and its a great charity!!  

Busy week...or month even!

I haven't had the chance to blog much lately.  There are valid reasons for that, some directly related to bobbleheads.  I've been going through old storage totes, most I thought were empty.  Much to my surprise that was not the case.  This was only after I bought a few smaller lots of bobbleheads from a few friends of mine.

Other than having fun looking through hundreds of bobbleheads (and no, I'm not exaggerating that number at all) I've spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with some sort of system to sell the bobbleheads that I now have doubles of!  I still don't have a great way to do it, but what I have for now, will work...for now.  If you are looking for specific bobbleheads, let me know!  I might have found a couple you could be interested int!

Below are a few pictures of some of the new ones I've uncovered!

The first bobblehead is Torii Hunter from the Fort Myers Miracle.  This was a giveaway, several years ago.  I've heard somewhere in the range of 500-1000 were produced.  The second is Jonny Flynn from the Timberwolves.  I believe this was an STH bobblehead.  Lastly is a mascot bobblehead from the Minnesota Youth Athletics Services for the Gopher State Baseball League.  I'm not sure when this was produced, but since it's a Minnesota themed bobblehead, I'm happy to have it in my collection!  

Minnesota Twins ST Bobblehead Set (Part 7 - Year 2007)

2007 brought us back to the boring, remade versions of the 2006 SGA set.  This set includes Torii Hunter, Brad Radke, Billy Martin and Jack Morris.  Unfortunately there isn't much more to tell about the 2007 set.

Below is a comparison picture of the 2006 SGA set and the 2007 ST set.  

Minnesota Twins ST Bobblehead Set (Part 4 - Year 2004)

Here's the 2004 Twins ST set.  Another pretty boring set.  Corey Koskie, Ron Gardenhire, Brad Radke, and Torii Hunter make up this set.

Obviously as you can see below, there are a few differences (finally) between the 2004 ST set and the 2003 SGA set.  Koskie has the same pose but is wearing a different uniform.  Same goes for Torii Hunter.  And beyond that the Twins replaced AJ Pierzynski and Eddie Guardado with Ron Gardenhire and Brad Radke.