KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Admit it: Most of the time when you look at a bobblehead, you are slightly amused by the resemblance -- or lack thereof -- to the player or coach being depicted.
And after that, you typically don't give it another thought.
Well, the Royals' 2015 bobblehead editions are bound to hold your attention just a tad longer.
Specifically, the bobbleheads of third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Lorenzo Cain are about as unique as it gets -- at least in the bobblehead world -- as both forever captured incredible action moments during the postseason.
The Moustakas bobblehead, which will be handed out June 20, quite possibly could be the most clever bobblehead ever -- that is, if you are a diehard Royals fan. Moose's bobblehead captures his incredible catch at the railing of the third-base dugout suite in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Orioles.
Brilliant.
And how did it come to be?
According to Royals vice president of publicity Toby Cook, at one point early in the Royals' playoff run, the team's marketing department shared a collective vision: It would be appropriate to somehow commemorate the best moments of the postseason.
And after many meetings and discussions, the marketing department settled on identifying one specific moment from each playoff step:
-- Wild Card game: Catcher Sal Perez after he hit the game-winning single against Oakland. That bobblehead will be issued May 2.
-- AL Division Series: One of Cain's great catches in Game 3 against the Angels. That bobblehead will be distributed June 6.
-- ALCS: The Moose catch. That giveaway: June 20.
-- World Series: Starter Yordano Ventura, who was so brilliant against the Giants. That bobblehead will be given out July 25.
Also, a replica of the AL championship trophy will be given away April 18.
"Often times, the (marketing) team will just let the season happen and feature stars from the previous year in giveaways for the next season," Cook said. "I have to give credit to our marketing folks for their foresight in deciding to look for moments once we made the postseason.
"I don't think they had a clue what was about to happen in the playoffs. An eight-game winning streak out of the gate? That didn't hurt. And no moment was more symbolic of the 2014 run than Moose diving into a dugout suite to make that catch.
"We actually wondered around the office later that week about Moose's catch: 'How are we going to bobblehead that?'"
Well, they made it happen.
And the process is painstaking. Once a play or moment was chosen, the marketing department collected numerous photographs with different angles of the play or moment. Those photos were submitted to the vendor, who studied them and then designed a clay model.
The samples were then painted and sent back to the Royals for approval.
Typically, several revisions were necessary. The whole process took several months.
It's worth it.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
