As dolls go, you could say they’re pretty funny-looking dolls.
A head that’s too big, more often than not with a big smile, and of course something quirky to be remembered by.
But bobbleheads hold a special place in sports, and especially in the game of baseball.
“Bobbleheads are so popular with fans because it’s kind of like the trading cards you would have collected 20 or 30 years ago. Now people seem to have this mantle, this never ending collection and you just keep adding and adding and adding,” said Mark Langill the Dodgers Team Historian.
This is Mark Langill, the Dodgers Team Historian. Give him one name, fact or the smallest detail and he’ll tell you how it relates to the Dodgers and the game of baseball.
The Dodgers collection of bobbleheads was started by their clubhouse manager and now is in the Dodgers’ Don Julio Baseline Club near the left field foul pole.
The nearly 1,000 dolls puts the evolution of this baseball staple on full display -- from paper mache' to the makings of clay. But they’re much more than just dolls - the faces, the poses, tell a story -- the history of America’s Favorite Pastime.
“The key is to have as many renditions as you can, because you don’t want people getting that bobblehead and then saying ‘Sort of, you came close.’ You want them to say, ‘That’s him!’” said Langill.
It’s hard to imagine baseball without bobbleheads, but in theory it could have been any kind of doll.
“It’s not really that mechanical because when you look at other kids toys from the 40s or 50s, there could have been a spring or have to be wound up. In this case you’ve got a coil and it’s not that hard to get them to do this," said Langill demonstrating the doll's bobble.
Bobbleheads though stuck for a reason. There’s an endearing quality to them that started as a generic face and has evolved into individual players and signature moments -- capturing a connection between fans and players and memories like no other relic the game has seen.
“You’ve held on to that moment for so long and now this is your chance to put it on your desk and relive it,” said Langill.
Baseball is a game of ups and downs, but like any die hard fans, these figurines are always optimistic.