Untouchables Paderborn Will Hand Out a New Bobblehead
Just like three years ago, the Untouchables Paderborn (German 1. Baseball Bundesliga) will hand out another bobblehead doll. The joyful fact will happen coming Saturday, July 26.
Three years ago, the Untouchables handed out the bobblehead of Oliver “der Bürgemeister” Neisemeier. This year, Octavio “Tavo” Medina will have the honor of getting a bobblehead modeled after him.
Medina, born in Mexico, played for Santa Ana College together with current Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
After a college career that brought him to Santa Ana College, Chapman University, and North Alabama University, Octavio moved to Germany to join the Trier Cardinals in 1994. The club was in danger to be demoted, but he helped the club to stay in the highest German league. In the next two years, the Trier Cardinals won the German championship. In his final year with the Cardinals, Octavio hit a very respectable .597 and stole fifty bases, still a record today.
In 1998, he joined the Untouchables Paderborn. After he went back to the United States in 1999, Octavio returned to Germany in 2000 to rejoin the Untouchables. After he retired as an active player in 2010, he had an overall batting average of .453.
In 2012, he became the manager of the Untouchables and later on he als became coach of several German national teams: U15, U18, and U21. Next to those teams, Octavio is also third base coach of the German A team (national team +23). He still is the manager of the Untouchables.
The bobble head will be handed out to the first 200 fans that enter the Ahorn Ballpark in Paderborn, coming Saturday, when the Untouchables will host the Bonn Capitals.
Just like three years ago, the driving force behind this bobblehead giveaway is Sascha Hermann. As a lifetime baseball fan, Sascha is a promoter of the sport in Germany. He is the driving force behind Baseball Fans Deutschland. With his mascot Manny (the Fox), he travels around Germany to show up in the mascot suit to promote the game.
The bobblehead of Oliver Neisemeier was the first one ever given away in Europe as far as we know.