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With the release of the 2015 Rockies promotional schedule, it’s time to answer that age-old baseball question: Now that we have these bobbleheads, what do we do with them?!
Yep, once again the ubiquitous bobbleheads are back on the Sunday afternoon matinee days. Check that schedule again -- these are bobbleheads, not those weird bobblegnomes that terrorized fans from last year. Who can forget the imposing Dinger bunny?! Or the Baby Bull with abnormally proportioned horns? I, for one, am glad that we’re back to bobbleheads. The first of the series is Justin Morneau, 2014 batting champion. Put this one next to your Michael Cuddyer 2013 batting champion bobblegnome – or, on second thought, don’t.
The Morneau ‘head is scheduled to be given away on Sunday, April 12. The rest of the series is as follows:
Troy Tulowitzki -- Sunday, June 7 (along with "Road to Rushmore")
Nolan Arenado – Sunday, July 26
Star Wars – Saturday Aug. 22
Jorge De La Rosa – Sunday, Aug. 23
Perusing the promo schedule (keep in mind at this early date we don’t know exactly what the promos will look like, other than the obvious), I see the season has a few events that are not to be missed.
April
Friday, April 10 -- Magnetic Schedule. Adorning Fridges and office cubicles throughout the Rockies fan base, this is a must have. Kudos to the sponsor, usually King Soopers, because this promo gets looked at – A LOT! Every time I have to double check if the team is on a brutal road trip, I suddenly need to go shopping with my Sooper Card. Great promo from the Soopers’ point of view.
Sunday, April 26 – Happy 20th (!) Anniversary, Coors Field. I can only assume that the 20th Anniversary reunion and celebration will result in a 15th inning walk-off from an unretired Dante Bichette to begin a playoff run in earnest.
When it comes to the Purple Monday hat and tee, and the infinity Scarf, photos would be very helpful here; a unique design or other catchy feature might be the difference between trudging down to the stadium or watching the game on TV. (Note: all of this assumes, of course, that you wouldn’t be going anyway. Are the promos really that much of an incentive?)
May
Tuesday, May 19 – $1 Hot Dog night! Even though the dogs are wimpier and skinnier than the ones sold at the concourse, who can argue with a $1 hot dog?! That’s enough to get me down to the stadium. What would be cool is if the seat-side vendors would bring a surplus of dogs to your seats like they used to. Fun tip: if $1 is too much for your dog, try bringing a thermos full of your own! It’s all totally legal!
Friday, May 22 -- Fireworks. No further comment needed.
June
Wednesday, June 3 -- Beach Towel! As you know, Colorado is famous for its beaches … or is that the other team that day? Still, I hope it’s a big beach towel. However, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to be writing "Los Angeles," "June" and "beach" here in freezing January. Big, small, beach-free or Dodgerfied, happily collecting a beach towel in June at sunny Coors Field sounds like nirvana right now.
Sunday, June 21 -- Father's Day baseball cap. Now we get an extra opportunity at a sponsored hat on Father’s Day, in addition to the Purple Monday cap.
July
July 4 -- Wait, what? July 10? Easy to explain: a long, hopefully not season-torpedoing road trip. Other than Opening Day, fireworks games are the only ones that sell out in winter, so remember this one, Memorial Day weekend (new) and Fan Appreciation (September) as fireworks dates. There’s also another $1 dog day, and ...
July 25 -- Player tee shirt. Perhaps it will be another Tulowizki … or a No. 17 Heckton shirsey. Or a No. 10 Bish#@$tte? No. 28 Arena-D’oh? After last year’s experimentation, we could have a one-of-a-kind collectible, so be there early.
August
Saturday, Aug. 22 -- Star Wars bobblehead! After more hats and $1 dogs, we get to the piece de resistance. I don’t care if it’s freaking Jar-Jar, I will be there! I guess the inaugural Star Wars night last year was a success. Can we anticipate Star Wars-themed jerseys as well, as wonderfully done by our minor league brethren? And, perhaps the bigger question: Has there ever been a more perfect match than Star Wars plus bobbleheads?
Sunday, Aug. 23 -- Jorge De La Rosa bobblehead. After obtaining the galaxy’s coolest collectible, receiving a De La Rosa bobblehead the next day may seem a letdown, but remember: of Boba Fett and JDLR, only one has a 45-14 record at Coors Field.
September
Saturday, Sept. 19 -- Rockies BBQ Invitational. Hmm ... this event, in its second year, sounds good, but maybe it’s because my grill is covered in three inches of snow.
Friday, Sept. 25 -- Fireworks. The last night game of the year, of course. If you were hoping for daytime fireworks, you’d have to rent a yule log-type DVD.
October
Friday, Oct. 30 (or something like that) -- Rally towels. Fifty thousand fans scream and jump around as they watch the Rockies finish off a sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. Ah, payback -- the best gimmick the Rockies can come up with.
The full promotional schedule, sans October (aw, man), can be viewed here.