Carlos Ruiz Bobble Head

Last night the Phillies handed out their one-millionth bobble head. And, to ceremoniously mark the occasion, one lucky fan was presented a gold-painted, signed figurine of Carlos Ruiz (by the man himself). In lieu of balloons and confetti, I thought I would commemorate the occasion by looking back at three of the most creative bobble heads given out by the Phillies.

Randy Wolf - 2004

Randy Wolf bobble head

Complete with 'wolf-arm', the Randy Wolf bobble is more like what we might see from a minor-league affiliate - but that's what makes it so great. This release perfectly represents what the Phillies marketing team was doing at the time: both creative and original (i.e. - there is no Wolf version #2).

Harry Kalas/Richie Ashburn - 2002

Kalas/Ashburn
Dual Bobble Head

I'm sure there were dual-bobble heads produced somewhere before the Harry/Richie in 2002, but it was a new phenomenon for me. For the most part, bobble head giveaways had been a distinction held for players, and up to that point, one player at a time. This bobble broke the mold, opening the door for several other duos, including current radio broadcast partners Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen.

Carlos Ruiz (Version #1) - 2010

Carlos Ruiz
Bobble Head (version 1)

Chooch's first turn as SGA was a nod back to the aforementioned "marketing golden age", mimicking the Mike Lieberthal "removable mask"figure. I liked the fresh take on an old idea, and it was one of the first I can remember to have an action pose (instead of a standard hitting or pitching one).