Bobblehead

It took a long time before legendary Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully would agree to let the club put his likeness on a bobblehead doll. So it figured that once he went along with it, he'd turn the ceremony honoring him and his figurine into something different. Instead of the traditional first-pitch ceremony before Thursday's game, Scully went to the mound, faked a huge windup and then walked over to the third-base line, where 15 of his 16 grandchildren were assembled, ages 5 to 22. He handed the ball to 15-year-old Mackenzie Luderer - who also sang the national anthem - and she relayed it to the child next to her. And so on and so on, until the last child handed the ball to Grandpa Vin. He flipped it to Manager Don Mattingly while the crowd stood on its feet and roared.

Did you really think they were just going to fade away? Not when they were an undisputed success last season. Think of it as Frank McCourt's parting gift. On Friday the Dodgers announced they would have another 10 bobblehead giveaway days next season -- complete with a mini-ticket plan -- releasing eight names and saying they had three more to come. And I thought math was tough for me. The Dodgers liked their promotion from last season so much, they're even bringing back the two most popular -- Vin Scully and Sandy Koufax -- again in 2013.

Throughout his playing career, Kirk Gibson shunned the spotlight. Twice, he even turned down invites to the All-Star Game. So when the Dodgers decided to make Tuesday "Kirk Gibson Bobblehead Night," Gibson wasn't necessarily thrilled with the idea. “I think it's totally ridiculous,” said Gibson, who is in town as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers face the Diamondbacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. “It's not my style, to be honest with you," Gibson said.

It took a long time before legendary Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully would agree to let the club put his likeness on a bobblehead doll. So it figured that once he went along with it, he'd turn the ceremony honoring him and his figurine into something different. Instead of the traditional first-pitch ceremony before Thursday's game, Scully went to the mound, faked a huge windup and then walked over to the third-base line, where 15 of his 16 grandchildren were assembled, ages 5 to 22. He handed the ball to 15-year-old Mackenzie Luderer - who also sang the national anthem - and she relayed it to the child next to her. And so on and so on, until the last child handed the ball to Grandpa Vin. He flipped it to Manager Don Mattingly while the crowd stood on its feet and roared.

I'd like to announce that I'm legally changing my name to Ron Artest, on account of he's changing his name to Metta World Peace, which — small world — was actually my birth name. If this name change goes through — I go before the judge on a variety of matters next week — I hope to pick up a percentage of Artest's jersey sales, though I realize I've never seen anyone actually wear an Artest jersey, other than Artest himself. Even then, it was somewhat reluctantly. Obviously, he's found a way to remedy that.

'I don't think the nose is big enough, but then, it wouldn't be able to stand up straight.' Joe Torre, New York Yankee manager, after examining his bobblehead doll

"Look what they've reduced me to...a duck. It's not something that's going to end up on my collectible shelf. I would much rather be a big-head bobblehead than a whack quack." Clifford Robinson, Detroit Piston forward, on a team giveaway featuring his likeness on a duck's body.

Please allow me to confess that I am one of those fools who fell for the Clipper advertising blitz and helped line Donald Sterling's pocket. We know how cheap he is with player contracts, but I am shocked by his approach to the team's bobblehead doll giveaway. Promising 5,000 bobblehead dolls to fans and then giving them out to one out of every four fans in attendance is far fewer than 5,000. I'm not sure what the Clipper brain trust (used loosely) was thinking, but perhaps I can be of assistance in future promotions.

Re " 'I'm back' turns into 'I'm gone,' " May 8 As a coach of my son's Little League team, I always hand out baseball cards to the players after the game. The pack I just bought had a Manny Ramirez card in it. I was going to reserve it for the player who played the hardest in the next game. Turns out I'm going to have to take it out of the stack. What a shame. Scott Dallavo El Segundo -- My 5-year-old started playing T-ball this spring, and instantly, to my great joy, he was consumed by all things baseball.

The split-screen image could be jarring. Barry Bonds, perhaps the greatest hitter of his generation, could walk out of a San Francisco courtroom Thursday afternoon, out of another day of his perjury trial, about the same time the San Francisco Giants open the defense of their World Series championship at Dodger Stadium. FOR THE RECORD: Baseball in 2011: The On Baseball column in the March 27 Sports section, previewing the major league season by the numbers, said three players from the Angels' 2002 World Series championship team were still active major leaguers.

Throughout his playing career, Kirk Gibson shunned the spotlight. Twice, he even turned down invites to the All-Star Game. So when the Dodgers decided to make Tuesday "Kirk Gibson Bobblehead Night," Gibson wasn't necessarily thrilled with the idea. “I think it's totally ridiculous,” said Gibson, who is in town as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers face the Diamondbacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. “It's not my style, to be honest with you," Gibson said.

The Dodgers put the "bobble" in Mike Scioscia Bobblehead Night on Tuesday, fumbling and stumbling their way through seven innings against the Angels before two devastating eighth-inning swings by Andre Ethier and Juan Rivera cured all of their ills. Ethier, who signed a five-year, $85-million contract extension earlier in the day, hit a two-out, run-scoring single to tie the score, and Rivera followed with a three-run home run to lift the Dodgers to a 5-2 interleague victory in front of 55,279 in Dodger Stadium.

Think of bobblehead dolls as a sub-species of the American fan, smaller but more likable and in the long run, probably worth far more. Like most items these days, they are made in bulk in China, but there is a burgeoning collection of companies that produce personalized dolls as well -- for Father's Day, coaching gifts, graduations and, in extreme cases, to mock the idiot in the next cubicle. At about $100, these custom-made versions are not cheap, and they require a bit of lead time -- about a month.

Over at the Gettysburg National Military Park bookstore in Pennsylvania, they've decided that maybe it's not such a great idea to sell a bobblehead of John Wilkes Booth, the notorious Confederate sympathizer and assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. The Associated Press reports that the dolls were on sale for about a week, then pulled from the shelf after the park superintendent and other officials determined that a bobblehead of a guy who murdered one of the nation's most revered public figures was sort of inappropriate.

A bobblehead doll of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, complete with handgun, has been taken off the shelves of the gift shop at the Gettysburg National Military Park. The visitors center at the park, which is overseen by the National Parks Service, pulled the head-springy doll after being contacted by a reporter at the Evening Sun newspaper in Hanover, Pa., as The Times and other news outlets have reported. Still, the Booth doll is apparently a strong seller, according to the Bobblehead company, which produces the item.

I'd like to announce that I'm legally changing my name to Ron Artest, on account of he's changing his name to Metta World Peace, which — small world — was actually my birth name. If this name change goes through — I go before the judge on a variety of matters next week — I hope to pick up a percentage of Artest's jersey sales, though I realize I've never seen anyone actually wear an Artest jersey, other than Artest himself. Even then, it was somewhat reluctantly. Obviously, he's found a way to remedy that.

He ranked fifth in the National League in runs batted in heading into the Dodgers' game against the New York Mets on Thursday. He was tied for fourth in doubles and fifth in hits. But James Loney has kept a relatively low profile this season, in part because he counts high-profile players such as Andre Ethier , Matt Kemp and Manny Ramirez among his teammates. Loney was even overshadowed on his bobblehead night, as Ramirez's third trip to the disabled list stole the headlines Tuesday.

The Dodgers announced that they would package "a limited number" of Manny Ramirez bobblehead dolls left over from last month's giveaway with a second bobblehead likeness of the slugger as part of a four-game ticket package. The second Ramirez bobblehead will be distributed to the first 50,000 spectators who attend the Sept. 16 game against Pittsburgh. It depicts Ramirez tipping his cap to the crowd after his pinch-hit grand slam July 22, the night of the first bobblehead promotion.

Would you rather win an Emmy or have your face on a T-shirt? Or on a bobble-head that has somehow found its way into more than a million homes? Or be the inspiration for a perennial Halloween costume? "Actually, can I just answer, 'All of the above'?" says three-time Emmy nominee Rainn Wilson, who plays the socially stunted micromanager Dwight on "The Office," an improbably popular character that has graced numerous tees, sold bobble-head dolls by the truckload and inspired many men to don short-sleeve, mustard-hued shirts and geek glasses on Oct. 31. "I may not have won any Emmys," Wilson adds.