2017 Player Appearances

Steve Garvey in 2010 (photo by Cbl62 via Wikipedia)

In case you didn’t know it, Steve Garvey will be making an appearance tonight at the Rochester Red Wings’ game. He is one of many former MLB and NFL players making appearances this summer at minor league ballparks. Garvey played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969 to 1982 before finish his career with the San Diego Padres (1983 to 1987).

Other players making appearances this summer include Mike Timlin, Carlos Baerga, and David Justice. Earlier this season, both Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant were in Charlotte, Jose Canseco made an appearance in Altoona, and Dale Murphy was at the Hickory Crawdads.

Below are the upcoming player appearances, plus a few other appearances, as well some events held previously this season:

Date	Player	Team	League
20-Jun	Steve Garvey	Rochester	International
22-Jun	Jack Morris	Rochester	International
22-Jun	NFL Player Appearance	Syracuse	International
23-Jun	Andre Dawson	Myrtle Beach	Carolina
24-Jun	Bill Buckner and Bob Dernier	Myrtle Beach	Carolina
28-Jun	Bucky Dent	Charlotte	International
13-Jul	Wally the Green Monster	New Hampshire	Eastern
17-Jul	Don Beebe (Buffalo Bills)	Rochester	International
19-Jul	Mike Timlin	Rochester	International
22-Jul	Robert Maschio	Akron	Eastern
22-Jul	Kenny Bania	Bowie	Eastern
29-Jul	Mr. Met	Binghamton	Eastern
30-Jul	The Oriole Bird	Norfolk	International
6-Aug	Phillie Phanatic	Reading	Eastern
16-Aug	Jack Morris	Charlotte	International
24-Aug	Carlos Baerga	Erie	Eastern
Previous: 6-Apr	David Justice	Richmond	Eastern
15-Apr	Phillie Phanatic	Reading	Eastern
17-Apr	Chipper Jones Book signing ($40 includes copy of book and ticket to 4/18 game – tickets limited)	Charlotte	International
19-Apr	Luis Tiant Appearance	Charlotte	International
29-Apr	Elmo and Big Bird	Binghamton	Eastern
9-May	Malcom Mitchell	Portland	Eastern
16-May	Tony Oliva	Charlotte	International
20-May	Jose Canseco	Altoona	Eastern
30-May	Former Mets Player	Trenton	Eastern
7-Jun	Phillie Phanatic	Reading	Eastern
10-Jun	Dale Murphy	Hickory	South Atlantic
11-Jun	Dwier Brown, who played John Kinsella in the movie Field of Dreams	Rochester	International
14-Jun	Brian Jordan	Charlotte	International
15-Jun	Bobby Valentine	Lakewood	South Atlantic
17-Jun	Washington Nationals Racing Presidents	Harrisburg	Eastern

2017 MiLB Bobblehead Giveaways

June may be almost over, but its never too late to play out your bobblehead giveaway gamess! Below are the remaining bobblehead giveaways for June for the International, Eastern, Carolina, and South Atlantic Leagues (the leagues in which the Orioles’ and Nationals’ minor league teams play) as well as past bobblehead giveaways. I will post future dates on July 1 and August 1.

Date	Bobblehead, Gnome, or Statue	Team	League
19-Jun	Paws Jedi Bobblehead	Pawtucket	International
23-Jun	Luau LOCO Bobblebody	Altoona	Eastern
23-Jun	Zach Britton	Delmarva	South Atlantic
24-Jun	Stephen Strasburg	Syracuse	International
24-Jun	Trevor Story	Asheville	South Atlantic
25-Jun	Roger Clemens	Scranton-Wilkes Barre	International
28-Jun	Atomic Wing Bobblehead	Buffalo	International
Previous Giveaways:
8-Apr	10th Anniversary Garden Gnome	Lehigh Valley	International
14-Apr	Aaron Nola Golden Bobblehead	Reading	Eastern
19-Apr	JP Crawford	Lehigh Valley	International
21-Apr	Mystery Bobblehead	Frederick	Carolina
21-Apr	Jack Kilway	Akron	Eastern
22-Apr	Trea Turner	Syracuse	International
29-Apr	Hollidaysburg Area School District Golder Tiger (mascot)	Altoona	Eastern
29-Apr	Talking Rick Rice Bobblehead	Asheville	South Atlantic
2-May	Nick Williams	Lehigh Valley	International
4-May	Homer the Dragon Bobblehead	Charlotte	International
6-May	Matt Stairs HOF Bobblehead	Harrisburg	Eastern
11-May	Steve Carlton	Lehigh Valley	International
13-May	Bryce Harper Gobblehead	Potomac	Carolina
13-May	Sean Kazmar Jr. “Star Wars” Bobblehead	Gwinnett	International
13-May	Rocket Bobblehead (Guardians of the Galaxy Night)	Indianapolis	International
13-May	Deion Sanders	Syracuse	International
16-May	Jackie Bradley Jr.	Portland	Eastern
19-May	Anthony Rizzo	Salem	Carolina
19-May	Al Tuna “Revenge of the Fish” Bobblebody	Altoona	Eastern
19-May	Championship Bobble Trophy	Rome	South Atlantic
23-May	Carlos Santana (random drawing)	Columbus	International
26-May	Michael Fulmer	Erie	Eastern
26-May	WQBE Rabbit Bobblehead	West Virginia	South Atlantic
27-May	Rubberta Bobblehead	Akron	Eastern
31-May	Dillon Brothers (NASCAR) bobblehead	Winston-Salem	Carolina
2-Jun	Mystery Bobblehead	Myrtle Beach	Carolina
2-Jun	Noah Santagaard Garden Gnome	Binghamton	Eastern
3-Jun	Marla Hooch (“A League of  Their Own”)	Akron	Eastern
3-Jun	Reggie Jackson	Scranton-Wilkes Barre	International
5-Jun	Jake Thompson	Lehigh Valley	International
6-Jun	Mookie Betts	Portland	Eastern
9-Jun	“I Gotta Have More Josh Cow Bell” Bobblehead	Altoona	Eastern
9-Jun	Amir Garrett	Louisville	International
10-Jun	Pedro Severino	Potomac	Carolina
10-Jun	Rio Ruiz “Super Hero” Bobblehead	Gwinnett	International
11-Jun	Gold Ribbon Gnome	New Hampshire	Eastern
13-Jun	Jason Kipnis (random drawing)	Columbus	International
14-Jun	Chew Chew Mascot Bobblehead	Hartford	Eastern
17-Jun	Johnny Damon	Wilmington	Carolina
17-Jun	Leg Lamp Bobble (from “A Christmas Story”	Lakewood	South Atlantic
17-Jun	Coach Cal Bobblehead Series Giveaway #2	Lexington	South Atlantic

 

 

MLB Heritage Celebrations

Since I finally published the annual bobblehead list yesterday, I figured it was about time to publish the list of MLB heritage celebrations. I had the privilege of attending Korean Heritage Night at the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, and this year I just so happened to be in town for the Oakland Athletics’ Korean Heritage Night. Even if you’re not a member of the various groups below, there are a lot of cool things happening and you can learn a lot about other folks!

(Note that some dates below may require special tickets for some of the activities involved.)

All Groups
3-Aug	Twins	Diversity Day
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
18-Apr	Oakland	Korean Heritage Night
25-Apr	Phillies	Asian Pacific Celebration
11-May	Giants	Filipino Heritage Night 1
15-May	Giants	Korean Heritage Night
18-May	Dodgers	Japan Night
25-May	Dodgers	Korea Night
30-May	Giants	Chinese Heritage Night
30-May	White Sox	Asian Heritage Night
31-May	Giants	Japanese Heritage Night
20-Jun	Dodgers	Hawaiian Night
23-Jun	Dodgers	Filipino Night
26-Jul	Rangers	Japan/America Friendship Night
30-Jul	Rangers	Korean Heritage Night
18-Aug	Giants	Polynesian Heritage Night
19-Sep	Giants	Filipino Heritage Night 2
22-Sep	Oakland	Filipino Heritage Night
Native Americans
10-Jun	Arizona	Native American Recognition Day
23-Jun	Giants	Native American Heritage Night
22-Jul	Mariners	Salute to Native American Night
African Americans
15-Apr	Nationals	Jackie Robinson/Black Heritage Day
29-Apr	Rangers	African American Heritage Night
7-May	Royals	Salute to the Negro Leagues/Dressed to the Nines
2-Jun	Phillies	African American Heritage Celebration
16-Jun	Pirates	African American Heritage Celebration
19-Jun	Dodgers	African American Heritage Night
10-Aug	Cardinals	Negro Leagues Tribute
12-Aug	Brewers	Negro League Tribute Night
25-Aug	Reds	African American Community Night
13-Sep	Giants	African American Heritage Night
6/30 – 7/2	Detroit	Negro Leagues Weekend
6/30 – 8/2	Detroit	15th Annual Negro Leagues Weekend
8/18-19/2017	Braves	Hank Aaaron Heritage Weekend
Latinos and Hispanics
7-May	Padres	Domingos Padres: Celebration of Venezuelan Culture
9-May	Dodgers	Mexican Heritage Night
23-Jun	Miami	Venezuelan Heritage Night
2-Jul	Padres	Domingos Padres: Celebration of Domincan Republic Culture
12-Aug	Detroit	Fiesta Tigres
25-Aug	Miami	Domincan Heritage Night
25-Aug	Phillies	Goya Latino Family Celebration
8-Sep	Nationals	Roberto Clemente/Hispanic Heritage Day
9-Sep	Arizona	Hispanic Heritage Day
9-Sep	Mariners	Salute to Latin American Beisbol Night
9-Sep	Rangers	Hispanic Heritiage Night
15-Sep	Detroit	Hispanic Heritage Month Recognition
15-Sep	Detroit	Hispanic Heritage
17-Sep	Miami	Nicaraguan Heritage Day
22-Sep	Reds	Fiesta Rojos (for Hispanic Heritage Month)
22-Sep	White Sox	Hispanic Heritage Night
23-Sep	Astros	Hispanic Heritage Street Fest
23-Sep	Astros	Hispanic Heritage Street Fest
23-Sep	Padres	Hispanic Heritage NIght
24-Sep	Padres	Domingos Padres: Celebration of Hispanic Cultures
27-Sep	Dodgers	Hispanic Heritage Night
1-Oct	Miami	Mexican Heritage Day
European Americans
25-Apr	Giants	Irish Heritage Night 1
2-May	Nationals	Irish Heritage Day
12-May	White Sox	Italian Heritage Night
19-May	Detroit	Polish Night
5-Jun	Phillies	Irish Heritage Celebration
9-Jun	Giants	Portuguese Heritage Night
20-Jun	Phillies	Greek Heritage Celebration
27-Jun	White Sox	Polish Heritage Night
18-Jul	White Sox	Greek Heritage Night
28-Jul	Phillies	Italian Heritage Celebration
22-Aug	Giants	Irish Heritage Night 2
25-Aug	Oakland	Italian Heritage Night
31-Aug	Giants	Italian Heritage Night
18-Sep	Detroit	Greek Heritage Night
18-Sep	Detroit	Greek Heritage
22-Sep	Detroit	Irish Heritage Night
22-Sep	Detroit	Irish Heritage
23-Sep	Mariners	Oktoberfest
23-Sep	Mariners	Oktoberfest
26-Sep	Oakland	Portuguese Heritage Night
27-Sep	Phillies	Oktoberfest
29-Sep	Giants	Oktoberfest
29-Sep	Nationals	Oktoberfest
9/15-17/2017	Reds	Oktoberfest
Religious Heritage
13-Jun	Red Sox	Jewish Heritage Night
25-Jun	Dodgers	Christian Faith Day
21-Jul	Dodgers	Mormon Night
13-Aug	Dodgers	Jewish Community Day
15-Aug	Oakland	Jewish Heritage Night
21-Aug	Giants	Jewish Heritage Night
27-Aug	Nationals	Jewish Community Day
3-Sep	Miami	Jewish Heritage Day
14-Sep	Phillies	Jewish Heritage Celebration

2017 MLB Bobblehead Giveaways

Now that I’ve finally acquired my first bobblehead of the year (more on that later this week), it’s time to finally post the list of MLB bobblehead giveaways. Below are the giveaways for June as well as the bobbleheads already given out this year at MLB ballparks. I’ll publish future giveaways for this year at the end of each month during the season – i.e., look for the list of July bobblehead giveaways on June 30th.

June Giveaways
2-4-Jun	Reds	Iron Man Bobblehead (special ticket required)
3-Jun	Brewers	Iron Man Bobblehead (special ticket)
3-Jun	Mariners	Nelson Cruz
3-Jun	Miami	Giancarlo Stanton 2016 MLB Home Run Derby Bobblehead
3-Jun	Oakland	Khris Davis
3-Jun	Orioles	Manny Machado Starting Lineup Figure
3-Jun	Rangers	Cole Hamels Super Hero Bobblehead
3-Jun	Reds	Anthony DeSciafani
3-Jun	Royals	Memorable Moments Bobblehead Series: Alex Gordon
4-Jun	Blue Jays	Josh Donaldson
6-Jun	Dodgers	Justin Turner
7-Jun	Brewers	Stitch ‘n Pitch Bobblehead featuring Brewers Racing Sausage Bratwurst (special ticket)
8-Jun	Cubs	“World Series MVP” Bobblehead
9-Jun	Braves	Bartolo Colon
9-Jun	Cardinals	Orlando Cepeda
9-Jun	Nationals	Tanner Roark
9-Jun	Yankees	Reggie Jackson
10-Jun	Tampa Bay	Matt Duffy Double Play Bobblehead
12-Jun	Red Sox	Chris Sale
13-Jun	Cardinals	Scott Terry mini bobblehead (special ticket)
16-Jun	Braves	Dansby “The Flow” Bobblehead
16-Jun	Brewers	Charlie Brown bobblehead (special ticket)
16-Jun	Tigers	Michael Fulmer Rookie of the Year Bobblehead
17-Jun	Pirates	Jordy Mercer
17-Jun	Reds	Pete Rose replica statue
18-Jun	Oakland	Marcus Semien Starting Lineup Action Figure
21-Jun	Cubs	Replica Rizzo Platinum and Gold Glove Trophy
21-Jun	Dodgers	Andre Ethier
21-Jun	Phillies	Phillies Star Wars Phanatic Red Leader (special ticket)
21-Jun	Twins	Brian Dozier “A Force 2B Reckoned With” Strormtrooper Bobblehead (special Ticket)
24-Jun	Arizona	Paul Goldschmidt X-Wing Fighter Pilot Star Wars Bobblehead
24-Jun	Cardinals	Bob Gibson “Final Out” bobblehead (part one of two)
24-Jun	Giants	Retro Bobble
24-Jun	Tampa Bay	Kevin Kiermaier Star Wars Bobblehead
25-Jun	Cardinals	Fredbird Bobblehead (kids 15 and under)
25-Jun	White Sox	Southpaw Birthday Bobbleheads (kids 13 and under)
26-Jun	Cardinals	Carlos Martinez and Matt Carpenter double bobblehead
27-Jun	Red Sox	Manny Ramirez
29-Jun	Red Sox	Charlie Brown (with special ticket purchase)

Past Dates and Other Bobblehead Giveaways
no date	Reds	Eric Davis 30/30 dual bobblehead with 6-game ticket plan
no date	White Sox	Carlton Fisk (when joinining Sox Pride Club)
no date	White Sox	Jim Thome (with purchase of SoxFest 2016 weekend hotel package)
4-Mar	Tampa Bay	Logan Forsythe
25-Mar	Tampa Bay	Raymond/DJ Kitty Bobblehead
5-Apr	Red Sox	Rick Porcello
8-Apr	Arizona	Jake Lamb
8-Apr	Astros	Jose Altuve “Handshake Series” Bobblehead
8-Apr	Cardinals	Yadier Molina
8-Apr	Pirates	Francisco Cervelli That’s Amore Singing Bobblehead
8-Apr	Rockies	DJ LeMahieu NL Batting Champion Bobblehead
8-Apr	Tampa Bay	Kevin Kiermaier Gold Glove Bobblehead
14-Apr	Mariners	Ken Griffey Jr. Replica Statue
14-Apr	Miami	Don Mattingly
14-Apr	Nationals	Daniel Murphy
14-Apr	Red Sox	Mookie Betts
15-Apr	Dodgers	Replica Jackie Robinson Statue
15-Apr	Giants	Johnny Cueto Shimmy Bobble
18-Apr	Cardinals	Red Schoendienst mini bobblehead (special ticket)
19-Apr	Mariners	Ichiro Dual Bobblehead
22-Apr	Mets	Matt Harvey garden gnome
22-Apr	Tampa Bay	Chris Archer Starting Lineup Figurine
23-Apr	Brewers	Jonathan Villar
25-Apr	Cardinals	Lou Brock mini bobblehead (special ticket)
28-Apr	Cardinals	Bruce Sutter garden gnome
28-Apr	Royals	Rusty Kuntz (special ticket)
29-Apr	Cardinals	Carols Martinez and Matt Carpenter Double Bobblehead
29-Apr	Dodgers	Corey Seager
29-Apr	Rangers	Adrian Beltre Dancing Legs Bobble
30-Apr	Giants	“Pence on Board” Plush Window Cling
30-Apr	Yankees	Gary Sanchez
2-May	Cardinals	Tom Pagnozzi mini bobblehead (special ticket)
3-May	Dodgers	Vin Sully Commemorative Microphone Statue
4-May	Red Sox	Mookie Betts Jedi bobblehead (with special ticket purchase)
5-May	Reds	Stormtrooper Bobblehead (special ticket)
6-May	Braves	R.A. Dickey Stormtrooper Bobblehead (special ticket)
6-May	Mariners	Felix Hernandez
6-May	Oakland	Bob Melvin
6-May	Tampa Bay	Bubble Blowin’ Evan Longoria
6-May	Twins	Rocket Raccoon Bobblehead
10-May	Dodgers	Kenley Jansen
13-May	Brewers	Jedi Keon Bobblehead (Star Wars Night) (special ticket)
13-May	Rangers	Elvis Andrus/Rougned Odor High Five Bobblehead (1 of 2)
13-May	Royals	Memorable Moments Bobblehead Series: Danny Duffy
14-May	Blue Jays	Marco Estrada
14-May	Nationals	Trea Turner
16-May	Angels	Trout MVP Season: Bobblehead 1 of 3
19-May	Braves	Ender Inciarte “Game Ender Catch” Bobblehead
19-May	Cardinals	Bobby Tolan mini bobblehead (special ticket)
19-May	Reds	Grateful Dead Terrapin figurine (special ticket)
20-May	Astros	Lance McCullers “Glow in the Dark” Gnome
20-May	Cubs	“The Final Out” Bobblehead
20-May	Mariners	Jay Buhner
20-May	Mets	David Wright Starting Lineup Figurine
20-May	Pirates	Bob Walk Chair-Tip Bobblechair
20-May	Reds	Adam Duvall
23-May	Dodgers	Joc Pederson
24-May	Red Sox	Craig Kimbrel
27-May	Indians	Jose Ramirez
28-May	Brewers	Robin Yount
28-May	Miami	Felo Ramirez
30-May	Cardinals	Whitey Herzog mini bobblehead (special ticket)

Best of the Week, 6/4-10/2017

A come-from-behind-win is great, but when your rookie outfielder both ties the game and then hits a walk-off homer, its downright AWESOME! Nice work, Trey Mancini!

 

 

Stat-urday, 6/10/2017

Masahiro Tanaka in 2015, photo taken by Arturo Pardavila III via Wikipedia

June is Immigrant Heritage Month and after a week of disturbing comments about foreign-born players essentially needing to learn English (from Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt – both of whom later apologized), its time to take a closer look at baseball demographics. According to the most recent Racial and Gender Report Card for MLB, foreign-born players make up nearly one-third of MLB rosters, and minorities account for over 40 percent of all Major Leaguers.

Here is a break down of the demographics:

Opening Day Rosters	2016	2017
Black, African American, or African Canadian	7.7%	7.7%
Hispanic or Latino	28.5%	31.9%
Asian	1.7%	1.9%
White	59.1%	57.5%
Foreign-born players	27.5%	29.8%

Fred Manfra Retires

Sunday was Orioles radio Broadcaster Fred Manfra’s last game before retirement. It may not have been the send-off Vin Scully received, but it was still bittersweet. Thanks for the memories, Fred!