Orioles (Baysox) Bobblehead of the Week- Brian Matusz

Boy, is it great to have Brian Matusz back in the starting rotation. I know that the Orioles have held their own without him, mainly thanks to Rookie of the Year candidate Zach Britton, who has filled Matusz's spot since Brian strained an intercostal  muscle just before his first start of the season. Brian is scheduled to make his third start of the 2011 season tonight against the Rays' David Price, so I don't expect much hitting from either team.

Dating back to the 2010 season, the Orioles have now won the last 10 consecutive games that Matusz has started and 13 of 14, so he always seems to put them in a great position to get the W. And I hope that streak continues tonight.

Brian was heavily hyped as a 2010 Rookie of the Year candidate but he hit an unexpected cold stretch in May and June to officially knock him out of contention. He still received a few votes and came in tied for 5th place in the running, but was nowhere near winner Neftali Feliz's vote total.

 

 slightly different angle, shows his face a little better

This bobblehead was only given away as part of the 2010 AA Bowie Baysox holiday ticket package which was sold in late 2009, so it seems to be pretty rare. My parents have now made it a tradition to get me the Baysox ticket deal for Christmas, and the 2011 package came with another bobblehead of a current Orioles starter, but that's a post for another day. 

If you missed out on this bobblehead, the Baysox are giving away a (hopefully different) Matusz bobblehead prior to their game on September 1.

Overall, I'm a huge fan of Matusz and the Baysox, so I love this bobblehead. But I don't think it looks like Brian at all.