The Chicago Cubs accidentally printed a bobblehead honoring Hall of Famer Billy Williams with the wrong uniform number.
Williams wore 26, but the Cubs made bobbleheads to hand out to fans with the number 1 — quite a difference.
@UniWatch the @Cubs are giving away a Billy Williams bobblehead tonight: here wore number 26, not 1 #JustAdd25 pic.twitter.com/TXq5kKmik1
— Tim Shriver (@ShriverBone) May 27, 2023
While the Cubs said they would reach out to the 10,000 fans who got the incorrect bobbleheads last month, the new figurines with the correct number won’t be available until next season, according to Fox 32.
So, in the meantime, 10,000 Cubs fans can either wait for the real thing, or they can enjoy the misprint as a special edition keepsake.
Some fans are upset about the whole thing, though, and took to social media to call out the franchise on its lack of due diligence and perceived respect to one of it’s all-time greats.
The Chicago Cubs HAVE THE WORST RECORD IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE. And on the night they earned this embarrassing milestone they gave away bobble heads of one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise with the wrong jersey number on it. What a joke. #TakeThat
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) May 28, 2023
What are the Cubs doing?? Starting with the wrong # on Billy Williams’s bobble head to bad fielding, hitting making decisions—this is like the Cubs of my youth and those are not good memories.
— Jonathan Friedman (@jmfriedman1) May 28, 2023
A dumpster fire and Billy Williams bobble heads with the wrong jersey number on them. In one day.
What is it that starts here, again?— Clark_Addison (@Clark_Addison) May 28, 2023
It’s not the most egregious mistake ever printed (Walmart and the various Washington football franchises can duke it out over that title), but it’s still enough that it irked plenty of fans. And that’s the opposite of what a good game day promo should do.
When you’re working on campaigns for sports teams, remember that every single detail will be considered. Sports fans, baseball fans especially, are so detail-oriented that they’ll catch even the slightest mistake.
