Who doesn’t love ballpark giveaways? You’re already getting to watch a baseball game, and then on top of that you get something for free. It’s the American dream.
For a lot of fans, a great giveaway item may be the only reason they’re going to the park to watch their awful team. Other fans may just want to keep their rapidly expanding bobblehead collection complete. Some may just want free clothes. Whatever the reason, fans love giveaway days. And here’s a list of the best giveaway days for (almost) every team in baseball this year.
(note: we tried to include pics for most giveaways, but some teams don’t have pictures posted for all giveaways. Also, the resolution on a lot of these pictures isn’t great)
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Arizona Diamondbacks: Tony LaRussa bobblehead, June 6 LaRussa has been with the D-Backs for, what, less than a year? Well then of course he already warrants his own commemorative bobblehead. It captures LaRussa’s essence perfectly, with his business casual polo shirt and a dog by his side. |
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| Atlanta Braves: Boyz II Men pregame concert, June 20 Shouldn’t Boyz II Men at least get a postgame concert? It seems like they have enough hits where just the pregame wouldn’t be enough. But anyway, this is the most interesting promotion on an otherwise boring Braves schedule. |
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Baltimore Orioles: Promotional schedule not yet released C’mon Orioles, it’s March. Let your fans know what they’ll be adding to their bobblehead collections already. |
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Boston Red Sox: Replica Fenway Park, April 27 A very cool display piece celebrating the iconic ballpark. It just beats out the Wally bobblehead they’re giving out earlier in the month. |
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Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field Football, May 1 What better way to commemorate Wrigley Field than with a football? Umm… well, there probably are better ways. Like with a baseball. But hey, at least this is unique. |
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Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu Rookie of the Year Blanket, April 25 Wrap yourself up during those cold Chicago nights with the reigning rookie of the year. Or hang it on your wall if you want to be boring. |
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Cincinnati Reds: Nasty Boys Triple Bobblehead, April 25 Man, this is awesome. A triple bobblehead featuring the dominant early ’90s Reds bullpen of Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers. For some reason they didn’t include Tim Layana and Tim Birtsas. |
| Cleveland Indians: 1975 Red Replica Jersey, May 23 One of the best jerseys in Indians history and the quintessential 1970s polyester look. And it’s better than what the Tribe wears now. |
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Colorado Rockies: Mullet Hat, May 24 What a genius, genius idea. This has the potential to really take off, and don’t be surprised if a bunch of teams add a mullet hat to their giveaway schedules next year. I want to fly to Colorado just to get one. |
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Detroit Tigers: Detroit Stars Scarf/Negro Leagues Tribute Game, April 25 The Tigers always do a nice job honoring their city’s Negro League heritage and this year is no different. And who doesn’t like a nice scarf? |
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Houston Astros: 1965 Replica Astrodome, April 18 The roof comes off! That’s the biggest selling point of this already cool piece and it puts it ahead of the Jose Altuve “hit counter” bobblehead they’re giving out in May. |
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Kansas City Royals: American League Champs Replica Trophy, April 18 Do you even know what the league championship trophies look like? Me neither, but Royals fans can have their own version of it in April. It’s not quite as nice as the trophy they almost won, but hey. |
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Los Angeles Angels: Angels Sombrero, May 5 What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Bonus points to the person who decides to wear this around town on a random day in September, too. |
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Los Angeles Dodgers: Tommy Lasorda Garden Gnome, May 25 The Dodgers have a lot of great giveaways to choose from– their bobblehead lineup is massive– but what Dodger fan wouldn’t want Gnome Lasorda watching over his garden every day? |
| Miami Marlins: Christian Yelich Replica Gold Glove Trophy, April 26 No picture of this one, but it wins by default because the Marlins have a really, really lousy promotional schedule. And it’s limited to the first 10,000 fans, so there should be plenty leftover. |
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Milwaukee Brewers: Mother’s Day BobbleHank, May 10 It’s a bobblehead of Hank the Dog wearing a pink scarf for Mother’s Day. What else needs to be said? You want one and I want one. |
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Minnesota Twins: Twins Hoodie, April 13 Let’s face it, clothing giveaways at the ballpark are usually crap. But judging from the picture, this looks like a quality sweatshirt that Twins fans won’t be embarrassed to wear out in public. |
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New York Mets: Jacob deGrom Garden Gnome, May 2 It’s the hair that makes this one the winner. Like other teams, the Mets don’t have a lot of great giveaways to choose from. But a gnome is always gold. |
| New York Yankees: Babe Ruth Bobblehead, September 10 No pictures of this one, so it wins by default. And the Yankees promotional schedule is hilarious: they have a bunch of giveaway days, but their schedule just says “promotional item” and doesn’t say what it is. “Dad, can you get us tickets for promotional item day?” |
| Oakland A’s: Mike Gallego Windmill Windup Toy, August 2 I wish there was a picture of this one. The A’s always have a few cool giveaways on their schedule, and a toy featuring their third base coach windmilling his arm around and around sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see it. |
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Philadelphia Phillies: Vintage Bobblehead, June 2 If you’re old enough to remember when bobbleheads weren’t of actual people, but rather a somewhat off putting smiling guy with huge blue eyes, you’ll appreciate this one. |
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Pittsburgh Pirates: Bill Mazeroski Replica Statue, August 29 The best moment in Pirates history immortalized in a statue, suitable for display on your mantel. A very cool piece. |
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San Diego Padres: Throwback Replica Jersey, August 8 The Padres like to tease their fans with glimpses of their old brown uniforms, the ones seemingly everybody but the Padres’ owners want to see back on the field. This is another chance for San Diego fans to sit and wish their team’s uniforms weren’t so God awful. |
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San Francisco Giants: Triplets Snow Globe, April 15 What can make a snow globe cool? When it has three World Series championship trophies in it, that’s what. |
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Seattle Mariners: King Felix Bobblehead, April 18 It’s Felix Hernandez dressed in a crown and robe. If that doesn’t make you want to buy tickets, I don’t know what will. I hope it starts a “literal interpretation of nicknames” bobblehead trend. |
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St. Louis Cardinals: 1985 Mystery Jersey, June 14 This is pretty cool: fans get a jersey of someone who was part of their ’85 NL championship team. It’d be awesome if you get Jack Clark! Not as awesome if you get Joe Boever. |
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Tampa Bay Rays: Rays Cowboy Hat, June 26 The Rays have a bunch of great giveaways this year, but there’s something about wearing a cowboy hat in Florida that puts this one over the top. The best giveaways sometimes don’t make a lick of sense. What does a cowboy hat have to do with the Rays? Who knows, but you probably still want one. |
| Texas Rangers: YUUU… t-shirt, May 17 No picture– the Rangers don’t have pictures of any of their giveaways– but this one sounds like it might be pretty fun. I hope the U’s go all the way around to the back of the shirt. |
| Toronto Blue Jays: White Panel Hat Day, June 28 The best cap in Jays history, one they sadly didn’t bring back when they changed to their modern day retro uniforms. But at least they’re still giving it respect. |
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Washington Nationals: Jayson Werth Chia Pet, August 5 Possibly the giveaway of the year for any team, right up there with the mullet hat. |
