Background
Rocket USA continues their march towards releasing Lubies for all 30 Major League Baseball teams. Recently, they added MLB Lubies plushies from six new teams: the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres.
The Facts
MLB Lubies
Series: Lubies
Manufacturer: Rocket USA
Artist: Joy Michel and Michael Perry
Material: Plush
Dimensions: 5” round
Designs: Atlanta Braves (bear); Cleveland Indians (bear); Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (bear); Milwaukee Brewers (bear – two versions); Minnesota Twins (bear and moose versions); San Diego Padres (bear)
Tag
While tags on plush toys are often cut off and disposed of, you'll usually learn a little something by looking at the tags in the MLB Lubies line. That's because each plush contains a “Did You Know?” fact about that specific baseball team. On the front of the tag, there's an illustrated version of the team's stadium. And on the inside, opposite your fact, is the team's logo.
Our Opinion
The individual Major League Baseball teams dictate to Rocket USA which plush animal and logo they want to go with. You can see some interesting choices by a couple of the teams in this collection.
The Milwaukee Brewers chose to go retro with their old-school MB glove logo (and coordinating color scheme) on one of the Lubies and the old Brewers script on the other. The Twins went with both a bear and a moose, making use of two of Rocket USA's animal designs.
While it would have made sense for the Angels to pick a monkey for their base character Lubie, since they've adopted the Rally Monkey as their sort of unofficial mascot (thanks Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), they opted for the bear instead. Too bad Rocket USA didn't have a Tony Danza plush (I had to make at least one Angels in the Outfield reference).
The Padres, Indians and Braves are all somewhat similar. They are blue bears with the muzzle and inner ears colored team specifically. Out of the three, I feel the Padres Lubie bear pulls of the look the best. However, the fact that Comic Con is in San Diego might have made me slightly biased.
OVERALL: The Major League Baseball Lubies line is great for sports fans, plush collectors and kids who love cuddly stuffed animals. Looking at all eight of the Lubies, fans of these six teams will be pleased with the product that Rocket USA released.Well produced,
Personally, I like what the Brewers did, going the retro route. If the Padres would had done a brown and yellow bear with the Swinging Friar logo, you could have called the game...that would have been the runaway winner.
Wondering if we've reviewed your favorite team's Lubies yet?
| AL | ||
| Blue Jays | Indians (bear) | A's (elephant) |
| Orioles (oriole) | Royals | Angels (bear) |
| Rays | Tigers (tiger) | Mariners (moose) |
| Red Sox (bear) | Twins (bear, moose) |
Rangers |
| Yankees (bear) | White Sox (bear) | |
| NL | ||
| Braves (bear) | Astros | Diamondbacks |
| Marlins (marlin) | Brewers (bear) | Dodgers (bear) |
| Mets (bear) | Cardinals (cardinal) | Giants (seal) |
| Nationals (bear) | Cubs (bear) |
Padres (bear) |
| Phillies (bear) | Pirates (bear) | Rockies |
You can pick one up at the following:
MLBShop: $12.99 ea.
MLB Lubies Grades
Plush Quality: 9/10
Stitching: 8/10
Material: 9/10
Softness: 10/10
Packaging/Tag: 9/10
Cuteness: 9/10
Fun Factor: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Overall: 9.2/10
Brewers (logo): 9.3/10
Brewers (script): 9.2/10
Twins (moose): 9.2/10
Twins (bear): 9.0/10
Padres: 9.0/10
Indians: 8.7/10
Braves: 8.7/10
