Baltimore Orioles Owner Baffles Fans With Bizarre Bobblehead Promotion

What were the Baltimore Orioles thinking with their weird David Rubenstein giveaway?

Jun 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein on the field before the game against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Promotions and giveaways at MLB games are fun for fans, even if they can be a bit silly. Do fans really want team-themed bucket hats and bowling shirts that they'll never wear again? Probably not.

One thing they definitely don't want, however, is a bobblehead of the team owner, which is exactly what the Baltimore Orioles gave the first 15,000 fans who arrived at Camden Yards for their April 19th game against the Cincinnati Reds.

That's right, the Orioles really made 15,000 bobbleheads of owner David Rubenstein and gave them to (un)lucky fans. Rubenstein himself even promoted them on social media, hawking them like a used-car salesman.

At least they were free, because nobody in their right mind would've paid for one.

Fans don't want a weird, Dwight Schrute-esque replica of their bespectacled billionaire owner. If they did, Camden Yards would've been more than 60% full on Saturday.

No, they want a souvenir of their favorite player, or at least someone who actually plays for Baltimore.

And if you want a bobblehead of yours truly, see you on April 19th. Go @Orioles! pic.twitter.com/oKCJnzSS6t

— David M. Rubenstein (@DM_Rubenstein) April 1, 2025

Besides, what has Rubenstein done to deserve a bobblehead? He's increased payroll since taking over last year and is infinitely more popular than his predecessors, but there's been little else to celebrate about his brief tenure so far (unless you count bringing in the outfield walls).

The Orioles won 10 fewer games in his first season at the helm and are off to a terrible start this year. They still haven't won a playoff game since 2014, nor have they extended any of their young stars.

Rubenstein has made plenty of promises about bringing Baltimore its first World Series championship since 1983, but he hasn't come close. Maybe he should wait until he wins a title or two before deeming himself worthy of a bobblehead.

Until then, save the bobbleheads for the guys out on the field, not the rich old dude who likes to dance on the dugout.