Friday, 5 April 2013

Are the St. Louis Cardinals releasing the worst baseball bobblehead ever?

This season the Oakland Athletics are giving away a Coco Crisp bobblehead that does the "Bernie Lean." The Cleveland Indians have one coming of Albert Belle flexing his muscles.

And the St. Louis Cardinals ... they have a guy who's BFFs with the "Real Housewives."

Andy Cohen, a TV executive and talk-show host, is getting his own night with the Cardinals on May 10, which includes him throwing out the first pitch and being immortalized in bobblehead form.

If you're reading a sports blog, there's a good chance you don't know who Andy Cohen is. I do, because my wife loves all things Bravo, which is the network Cohen runs. He's behind the various "Real Housewives" shows (among others) and hosts the nightly "Watch What Happens" talk show, where he interviews both actual celebrities and the ones his network creates. He also has a book out.

He is, essentially, the Vince McMahon of trashy TV. He's the behind-the-scenes guy, calling the shots, but also comes in front of the camera to referee the "Housewives" reunion rumbles.

And, yep, this guy is getting a bobblehead from a major-league team.

From the Bravo website:

“I can’t believe the Cardinals are letting me loose on the field -- total bucket list moment!” said Andy in a release. “It’s the perfect way to celebrate my paperback!”

Clearly, the Cardinals are just as excited to have Andy take the field.

“There is no greater fan of the Cardinals than Andy Cohen,” said Dan Farrell, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Whether it’s on TV or on Twitter, he’s constantly cheering us on, and we’re happy to do the same for him by hosting this event.”

He's a Cardinals fan and St. Louis native, that part is legit. So in that sense, good for him. You'll see a Cardinals hat behind him during his talk-show. But a celebrity fan does not a worthwhile bobblehead make. It's not like the Dodgers are making bobbleheads of every C-list actor who comes to their games.

Baseball teams have given out odd bobbleheads before — beer guys and mascots and stuff like that. Even Bruce Lee. But reality TV people? Don't we watch sports to avoid that stuff? Really, I just hope this Andy Cohen thing doesn't open the door for a Kardashian bobblehead. Then we're really in trouble.

Unlike some giveaways, the team isn't just handing these bobbleheads out to the first 10,000 people through the gates. You have to buy a special Andy Cohen Night ticket to get one.

Which is good, because I'm sure if you handed an Andy Cohen bobblehead to the average baseball fan, the reaction wouldn't be "bravo."

Opening Day is here. Don't miss anything.
Follow @MikeOz and @bigleaguestew, on Twitter, along with the BLS Facebook page.



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