Background
The Best Toy Line of 2010 was won by Rocket USA for their Major League Baseball Lubies plush line. Cute, cuddly plushies plus baseball? Can you ask for more?
While we've seen most teams represented, there still are a few stragglers (Astros, Diamondbacks and Rockies). We'll finally check out two of those three remaining teams. Also, we're seeing a number of teams adding slight variations to their previous Lubies...or going the retro route.
The Facts
MLB Lubies
Series: MLB Lubies
Manufacturer: Rocket USA
Artist: Joy Michel and Michael Perry
Material: Plush
Dimensions: 5” round
Designs: Arizona Diamondbacks (snake); Chicago Cubs (retro - bear); Cincinnati Reds (red pinstripes and black - bear); Houston Astros (longhorn); Los Angeles Dodgers (white - bear); San Diego Padres (retro - bear); Tampa Bay Rays (dark blue - ray)
Tag
Like previous MLB Lubies plushies, these all feature an illustrated version of the team's stadium on the outside of the tag. Inside, there's the team's logo on the left side of the tag and a 'Did You Know?' factoid on the righthand side. There's also the official MLB tag to reinforce that these are licensed pieces.
Our Opinion
In this grouping of Major League Baseball Lubies, there are a few teams that we've not looked at yet...as well as several alternate designs.
This is the first time we've seen any Lubies from the Arizona Diamondbacks. They chose to use a snake (that's what a diamondback is) with Dbacks embroidered across the chest. This one is my favorite of the group. I mean...doesn't it look like a little snake just swallowed a softball?
This is also the first time that we've seen the Houston Astros Lubie design. It uses the longhorn, which was also used for a version of the Texas Rangers. It's Texas...they have a bunch of cows, right? So I think both teams can use the same animal.
The Chicago Cubs retro styled Lubie features a dark blue bear with a light blue (pinstriped) jersey. Chicago is embroidered across its chest in dark blue. It's a nice, simple and clean design.
Previously, we saw a red Cincinnati Reds Lubie bear. This go-round, they've released a pair of designs that have added a little black to the red and white color scheme. The Tampa Bay Rays also tweaked their previous Lubie slightly. Rather than being light blue on the top and gray on the bottom, this Ray is dark blue on the top and tan on the bottom. They also changed the placement of the team's logo from the top of the head to the wing.
Lastly, those two National League West rivals – the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres – added new Lubies to their stables. The Dodgers had some of the first Lubies released. This version sort of combines their first two – an all white and an all blue – with a blue bear and a white uniform. The Padres went old school with a brown bear and pale yellow accents. Yep...this is from the swinging friar days.
OVERALL: The MLB Lubies line won our Best Toy Line of 2010, so it's fairly obvious that we're fans. Since the Rockies are the lone remaining team to release a Lubie, what will happen with the line? Hopefully we get to see a few variant and/or retro versions of some of the teams. And I'd love to see the Lubies expand to the other major sports leagues.
Wondering if we've reviewed your favorite team's Lubies yet?
| AL | ||
| Blue Jays (blue jay) | Indians (bear) | A's (elephant) |
| Orioles (oriole) | Royals (lion) | Angels (bear) |
| Rays (stingray) | Tigers (tiger) | Mariners (moose) |
| Red Sox (bear) | Twins (bear, moose) |
Rangers (horse, longhorn) |
| Yankees (bear) | White Sox (bear) | |
| NL | ||
| Braves (bear) | Astros (longhorn) | Diamondbacks (snake) |
| Marlins (marlin) | Brewers (bear) | Dodgers (bear) |
| Mets (bear) | Cardinals (cardinal) | Giants (seal, panda) |
| Nationals (bear) | Cubs (bear) |
Padres (bear) |
| Phillies (bear) | Pirates (bear) | Rockies |
You can pick one up at the following:
Rocket USA: $12.95 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
Diamonbacks: 9.3/10
Cubs: 8.9/10
Reds: 8.8/10
Astros: 9.0/10
Dodgers: 8.9/10
Padres: 9.2/10
Rays: 9.0/10
