On Friday afternoon the Dodgers announced their 2014 promotional schedule. In the event that you might not know exactly what this means, it means “free stuff” games – stuff like hats, T-shirts, beach towels, kids jerseys, fleece blankets, beach chairs, kids lunch boxes and of course bobbleheads.

Without question, the bobbleheads are the most popular giveaway items every year. Even when the Dodgers were flailing under troubled owner Frank McCourt and attendance was at an all-time low, fans would show up on bobblehead nights – even if only to grab their bobbleheads and immediately leave.

This past season the Dodgers had 10 bobblehead nights and it shouldn’t come as any surprise that every one of these nights was a sellout. In fact, the Dodgers had 29 sellouts during the 2013 regular season while en route to an MLB-leading attendance of 3,743,527, almost 400,000 more than their nearest competitor.

And while the Dodgers have announced who will be featured for nine of their 10 bobblehead nights for 2014, the 10th one remains a mystery.

Why?

Because that 10th bobblehead will be voted on by the fans. And though it may be a little outside of the box, why not make that 10th and final bobblehead a Nancy Bea bobblehead?

Nancy Bea and Bill Hefley have been together for over 56 years and where you find one, you will always find the other nearby. (Photo credit – Adam Rose)

When you stop and consider that Nancy Bea Hefley has been at the keyboard of the Dodger Stadium organ since opening day 1988 and you can count on your hands the number of games that she has missed, you begin to realize that she is as big a part of the Dodgers rich history and tradition as Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín – both of whom have had bobbleheads in their honor.

Much like Scully and Jarrín, if you were to ask Nancy Bea if she would want a bobblehead in her honor, she would give you an “absolutely not,” because that’s just who she is. But if you were to ask Dodger fans, especially older Dodger fans who have had the pleasure of listening to her wonderful music for 25 years, they would say “absolutely yes.”

Just for kicks (and because I am a huge Nancy Bea fan), I tossed this quick post on Twitter yesterday afternoon:

In a matter of minutes I received more than 20 re-tweets and favorites in support of the idea and one opposed to it (must have been a BBWAA writer). And though there was nothing even remotely scientific about this tweet, it clearly suggest that there are a lot of Dodger fans out there who adore Nancy Bea and would love to see a bobblehead in her honor.

One of Nancy Bea’s biggest fans is Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

This one is a no-brainer and I encourage Stan Kasten, Magic Johnson and the Dodgers promotions department to give some serious consideration to putting Nancy Bea Hefley’s name on the ballot for the Fan Vote Bobblehead Night on June 26, 2014.

If you don’t think bobbleheads are big, just ask Dodgers clubhouse manager Mitch Poole, who has over 600 of them. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

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Some Nancy Bea Facts:

• Nancy began playing the piano when she was four years old. When she was 13 years old, she talked her piano teacher into teaching her the basics of the organ.
• Before working for the Dodgers, Nancy once filled in for a friend as the organist for the Angels at Angel Stadium. So impressed with her that they offered her a job on the spot, which she declined because she did not want to take work away from her friend.
• Nancy does not plan her songs before games but get her musical cues from events occurring on the field during the games. Her favorites are songs from popular Broadway musicals but she also plays pop and rock songs in addition to older and less commonly played numbers.
• In her very first season with the Dodgers in 1988, Nancy Bea started playing Master of the House from the hit musical Les Misérables when the umpires were being introduced before the game. Vin Scully loved it so much that he approached her and requested that she play it more often. It was also Orel Hershiser’s favorite (and we all know what kind of season he had in 1988). “I love ‘Master of the House,’ ” said Nancy. “But since it became pretty much his song, I can only play it if he’s around, otherwise people will go, ‘Is Orel here tonight?”‘
• Nancy’s husband of 56 years Bill Hefley accompanies her to every Dodger home game. “I just want to be there if she needs me,” he says. “I need him here every night in case I need rescuing,” she says.
• “[Giants broadcaster] Duane Kiper is always asking me to play I Left My Heart in San Francisco and I always tell him ‘If you lose, I’ll be happy to,’ ” says Nancy.
• Nancy plays the organ at the Orange County Fair, the L.A. County Fair, and has played shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.