From The Bakersfield Californian by Theo Douglas
Put him in, coach β Mayor Harvey Hall is ready to play.
Itβs been two years in the making but Friday is finally Mayor Hall Bobblehead Night at Sam Lynn Ballpark, when the Bakersfield Blaze square off against the San Jose Giants in the second of a four-game series.
Will the Blaze win? Shake your bobblehead and all signs point to yes β or, at least, Hallβs head does.
The first thousand ticketholders get their very own action figure of Bakersfieldβs longest-serving mayor and everyone present qualifies for random giveaways each inning, ranging from a Cuisinart gas grill to an Xbox One video game console.
Blaze players will win too β $50 from Hall for each home run theyβve hit during home games for the first half of the season.
Left-fielder Tyler OβNeill leads the line-up with eight home runs.
As for the real mayor, heβll start the night by landing on center field in a Hall Ambulance helicopter βΒ Bakersfieldβs version, arguably, of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, when actor Daniel Craig and Queen Elizabeth II spoofed a helicopter jump overhead.
Medevac 1 pilots have already practiced sticking the landing at Sam Lynn. Hall will alight, a flight nurse will hand him the ball, and heβll wing it over the plate.
Imagine getting a strike from the mayor. Thatβs gotta hurt.
Unlike its real-life inspiration, though, Hallβs bobblehead has a limited wardrobe. Its only set of clothes is a painted-on Blaze uniform.
No, really: itβs painted on, with the number 72 β Hallβs old racing number when he drove at Bakersfield Speedway and Mesa Marin Raceway.
If you want a purple seersucker suit for your bobblehead, to match the real-life version Bakersfieldβs mayor of 14 years wore to last weekβs State of the City lunch, youβll have to sew it yourself.