![]() ![]() This is a really nice bobblehead of a man who won MVP for the Phillies and should be a Hall of Famer, in my view. But the Clemente hat just being plain black all over except for the white circle around a yellow 21 is an outstanding touch. Otherwise the pick would've been the Oneil Cruz bobblehead ( June 3), though strong consideration was also being given to the David Bednar bobblehead on July 29 because it also says it's "Yinzerpalooza" and that piqued my interest. It's fun, just nothing that'll blow you away. There's a decent variety here with some good bobbleheads ( Logan Webb, for example) and I love the Kruk and Kuip tiki mugs ( June 25), but the interactive feature on the mascot kayaking in McCovey Cove with the splash hits counter is something unique to the ballpark. May 20 - Lou Seal splash hits counter bobblehead Carita would be the nickname of star third baseman Rafael Devers, who signed an extension to stay in Boston long term this past offseason. Overall, the Red Sox have one of the lightest promotional giveaway schedules and that's very likely a product of not needing more to sell tickets than Fenway Park itself. It's Teddy and Abe on June 17 and George and Tom on Aug. I like the racing presidents ones with a pair on each, though, for my pick. Abrams and Keibert Ruiz, scattered through the season. There are bobbleheads for what they hope are their three future stars in Josiah Gray, C.J. The Nats did the best they could here with the current state of the team. It just doesn't make a huge dent on this list. ![]() Most likely it's just the two dudes standing on the same platform, which in and of itself is good. The winner here doesn't say the last names, but that would be backup infielder Nicky Lopez and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Overall not a stellar promotional calendar, but there are a few bobbleheads ( Bobby Witt, Jr. June 18 - Nicky & Vinnie Double Bobblehead It is, however, the only thing with promise on this calendar. Also, the picture on the A's website is so small and tightly-cropped that I can't even tell if the bobblehead is well done or not - which is to say maybe it should be ranked higher. The problem here is that they don't have any star-caliber players to use and instead go with the non-descript manager (no offense to Kotsay, but even the most well-known managers aren't drawing crowds like the players further down this list with Star Wars tie-ins). As we'll see much later in the rankings here, I love Star Wars and especially love using the theme in a baseball crossover. The A's have finished first in this thing in the past, but this season the promotional calendar was pretty barren, at least regarding giveaways. ![]() May 4 - Star Wars Mark Kotsay Mandalorian bobblehead I'll stray when necessary, but I'm not going to go away from the best ones just because we have too many bobbleheads listed. I could see a complaint that I'm too heavy on bobbleheads, but those are generally the best promotional giveaways at ballparks. It is also an entirely subjective effort by one person. This isn't a ranking by which team has the best overall calendar nor is it a ranking of the 30 best (some teams would have multiple giveaways in the top 20). I sort through every single promotional giveaway to fans attending games for each team, ending up with a best for each team. The process here is exhaustive but also simple. In addition to many other things, it means I'm back to being able to look at a full schedule of promotional giveaways for all 30 teams, formerly an annual tradition that we are now resurrecting. Finally, now in 2023, we are all the way back. ![]() Then came last season, which was delayed due to the offseason lockout. While every season is unique, by simple definition of a word far too often used incorrectly (tsk, tsk), 2020 was a major departure and 2021 was still affected. In several different places here on CBS Sports, I've noted that this is the first "normal" start to a Major League Baseball season since 2019. ![]()
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