Baltimore Orioles Give Away Tupac Bobblehead - See it Here

The late Tupac Shakur is a mythical figure.

Shakur, mononymously known as Tupac or 2Pac, was fatally shot and tragically died at 25 in September 1996. The iconic rapper crammed as much as possible into those 25 years, becoming just as influential as an activist, actor, and poet. He was born in New York City, but his lore truly began as a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

As such, the Baltimore Orioles are honoring Tupac with a bobblehead. The first 20,000 fans to arrive at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the Orioles’ game against the Athletics on Friday night received the coveted bobblehead.

The question isn’t, “Why did the Orioles make a Tupac bobblehead?”

The question is, “What took them so long?”

Regardless, the Orioles answered the former question.

The Orioles interviewed a few Baltimore School for the Arts alumni - Darrin Bastfield, Shavez Rogers, and Sean Stinnett - about their time studying with Tupac. Rogers described Tupac as “like the mayor,” while Bastfield, one of Tupac’s formative close friends, said he was “a very conscientious young man with an incredible drive.”

“I asked Tupac, ‘What type of actor do you want to be?'” Bastfield recalled. “He was sitting on the windowsill, and immediately, he said, ‘Shakespearean actor.’ And I’m like, ‘Shakespeare?’ Tupac went on to educate me that in order to do Shakespeare, you had to be the very best to attempt the material, and he wanted to be the very best.”

The Orioles opened the Camden Yards gates early “due to popular demand,” and a sea of people showed up.

The 20,000 fans who got their hands on the Tupac bobblehead likely don’t care whether the Orioles win or lose against the Athletics.

Baltimore enters Friday night with a 17-21 overall record, nine games behind the New York Yankees atop the American League East.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 7:37 PM.