Seattle Mariners announce 2015 bobbleheads and other promotional giveaways

For a long time, the Mariners faced much derision for their bobbleheads—at least among some of the diehards. The organization cared more about marketing and appealing to casual fans than winning, the calls went. When would they put some money into actually bringing in good players?

Well, they did that. And now they're winning. And now the combination of spending on players and making bobbleheads is glorious. Seriously, look at this thing. Just look at it.

You don't want that? No, shut up, you're lying. Oh and then there's this:

These images, naturally, come from the Mariners' complete promotional schedule.

Bobbleheads are goofy as all hell, and I will acknowledge that it does feel like you're being placated a bit when you're handed one while walking in to watch a team that's twenty games below .500. But, that's not the case anymore—or shouldn't be the case anymore, and now goofy stuff like this is an opportunity to celebrate the players and personalities we watch—in a very ridiculous manner.

So, for housekeeping purposes, here's the full bobblehead schedule:

• Saturday, April 18th vs the Rangers: Felix Hernandez
• Saturday, May 9th vs Athletics: Fernando Rodney
• Tuesday, June 2nd vs the Yankees: Kyle Seager
• Saturday, July 11th vs the Angels: Nelson Cruz
• Saturday, August 8th vs the Rangers: Jamie Moyer (his Mariners Hall of Fame night)
• Saturday, August 22nd vs the White Sox: Robinson Cano

You see that Nelson Cruz gets one right out of the chute, which isn't entirely unexpected. Then, in what's likely the biggest highlight, Kyle Seager gets his very first—for a game against the Yankees. And that's another side to this: you can expect all of these games to draw big crowds, and with attendance already improving on its own, there's a decent chance many of these—four of six against divisional foes—will be sellouts, or close to it.

But yeah, an early-summer sellout against the Yankees for Kyle Seager bobblehead night? That's going to be a good one.

Now, that isn't the end of these. There's also this:

That is the Hisashi Iwakuma Bear Hat. Yeah. That's...a thing. Here are a few other noteworthy giveaways and events, aside from the bobbleheads.

• Friday, April 17th vs Rangers: Mariners Beard Hat Night
• Saturday, May 16th vs the Red Sox: Turn Back the Clock / Negro Leagues Night, with a Seattle Steelheads hat
• Saturday, June 6th vs the Rangers: Ack Attack Express Train Night
• Sunday, June 21 vs the Astros: Father's Day and Mike Zunino BBQ Aprons
• Thursday, July 9th vs the Angels: Bark at the Park
• Saturday, May 29th; Friday, June 19th; Friday, July 24th; Friday, August 21: Fireworks Night

Again, there's more, which you can see in the full schedule.

Also, a bit of a pro-tip, if you will: keep an eye on the many College Nights they have listed. The "just to get in" price of weekend tickets is bound to go up a bit in 2015, whether you're buying them from the Mariners or secondhand, and they've kept those right around $10. And, if you buy them online, you don't need a college ID or anything. Plus, if you still have your old one, you can get cheep beers in the 'Pen for an hour longer.

Overall, it looks pretty good. They're just promos, so not a huge deal, but they bring out the crowds and give weekend games more an event feeling—then, it's cool to just have these random things.

I think this captures things well:

The Mariners promotional schedule is the perfect combination of bobbleheads and weird stuff and I'm totally on board.

— Meg Rowley (@megrowler) January 14, 2015