The Associated Press
Photographer Takanori Kato directs Seattle ball girls holding an Ichiro Suzuki bobblehead on Thursday.

Latest collector craze takes swing at Seattle fans

ELLIOTT SMITH, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published July 28

SEATTLE -- Cabbage Patch Kids. Beanie Babies. Furby. Get ready to add one more item to the must-have collection.

Bobblehead mania has struck Safeco Field, where today, the Mariners will hand out one of the most anticipated giveaways in team history -- the Ichiro Suzuki bobblehead doll.

The first 20,000 fans at today's game will receive the miniature Ichiro, already a hot commodity among collectors and traders.

So hot, in fact, that the Mariners were expecting a vast number of today's ticket holders to camp out Friday night just to be sure they would get their hands on Ichiro.

The M's will enforce strict guidelines to make sure people don't go too bobblehead crazy.

Hale said that there will be no holding of places in the line and only one doll will be given per ticket. Anyone with more than one ticket will have to go to the end of the line to receive another doll.

"We've had some experience with this sort of thing before," Hale said. "In 1998 we had Beanie Babies at the Kingdome and we had the postseason last year. Given what some other teams have gone through, we have experience."

Still, the fervor that fans have displayed throughout the season may spill over in trying to get baseball's hottest item.

"I'm a little worried about my safety," said Brenda Moore of Bellevue. "We've had WTO, Mardi Gras..."

But the Mariners say there should be no concern.

"We'll have extra police and security out there," Hale said.

Some fans are willing to take their chances to get an Ichiro doll... to a degree.

"I don't think I need to camp out," Melissa Barden of Issaquah said. "But I will be here at the crack of dawn (today)."

The dolls, which were available during All-Star Week, have already skyrocketed in value, as the $35 figures have been selling for upward of $150 on the Internet.

"If people want to sell them, obviously we can't stop them," Hale said. "But we won't let collectors or dealers buy and sell them in the stadium or on Mariners property. If we see people doing that, they will be ejected."

Camping out? Ejecting fans? All for... a toy?

"It's the hottest promotional item in sports for the hottest player in sports," Hale said. "Am I surprised? No.

"Do I understand? No."

Elliott Smith covers the Mariners for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5473 or esmith@olympia.gannett.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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