When a baseball team needs to come up with ways to sell tickets to fans, there is one surefire way to get butts in the seats on a muggy summer evening: Bobbleheads.
The Atlanta Braves, a franchise that has entered a rebuilding era and is preparing to pack up and move to the next town over, will be offering some fun new bobbleheads to fans this season. Chipper Jones fans won’t want to miss out on one in particular.
The first 20,000 fans making their way through the gates of Turner Field on May 28 will be handed a bobblehead commemorating the day Chipper Jones rescued Freddie Freeman on an ATV during a rare Georgia snowstorm in 2014. Chipper Jones will be featured in his own bobblehead later in the season in September with a 2000 All-Star Game figurine.
They made it home safe and sound! #thankful @RealCJ10 @FreddieFreeman5 pic.twitter.com/KBO59VL1HU
— Taylor Jones (@lilgeorgiapeach) January 29, 2014
Earlier in the season, the Braves will be giving away another duo bobblehead. The first 20,000 fans attending the April 23 game against the New York Mets will get a talking Skip Carey and Pete Van Wieren bobblehead. The talking bobblehead will share classic calls from the announcing team, which will be a nice little keepsake for Braves fans. In August, the Braves will hand out an Andruw Jones “Spiderman Catch” bobblehead, which might be pretty interesting…
Not to be forgotten, the Braves also have a bobblehead giveaway honoring former longtime manager Bobby Cox. The Bobby Cox “Carried Off” Bobblehead will be given away on Sept. 17. One more bobblehead giveaway is scheduled, but that will be for a player to be determined.
Here is the Braves’ full promotional schedule for 2016.
It is interesting to see the Braves, a team in a clear rebuilding mode, have essentially a full lineup of bobbleheads for the 2016 season confirmed and not one is for a current player. This is the bobblehead reality for teams in rebuilding mode. Nobody wants a bobblehead of some player that may or may not be a piece for a long time to come. Take it from a baseball fan who received a Nyjer Morgan bobblehead at a Washington Nationals game once. The Braves going with fan-favorites and classic moments, in addition to popular announcers, is a clear sign the team knows it has little to be proud of on the field going into the 2016 season.
