Gone are the old days of bobblehead giveaways when every single one looked exactly the same: a generic pudgy bobblehead with a jersey and cap painted on it that's passed off as your favorite player.
Now we have bobbles that actually look like the players they purport to depict. More than that, we have themed bobbleheads. Noted Star Wars fan Sean Doolittle got a jedi-themed doll. Braves teammates Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson look alike, so they got a mashup Swanberson bobble.
But even with all these innovative new giveaways, progress marches on. As it turns out, we were trapping ourselves thinking purely in terms of bobbleheads. On July 23, the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings will be giving out a bobble shell in honor of legendary contact machine Willians "La Tortuga" Astudillo. As the name suggests, it's his tortoise shell -- not the head -- that bobbles!
He probably would have loved to be equipped with that shell to facilitate his slide into home after this sprint around the bases.
Astudillo is a unique player, so it's only fitting that he get a unique bobblehead. The question isn't whether this would be a great addition to any bobblehead/bobbleshell collection; the only question is whether it's best displayed facing forward to see his face or backwards for ease of flicking the bobbling shell.
Eric Chesterton is a writer for MLB.com. He is an appreciator of the stolen base, the bunt against the shift and nearly every unconventional uniform design. He eagerly awaits Jamie Moyer's inevitable comeback.