Product Review: MLB Insiders Club Fleece Blanket

By Bill Jordan
Updated: January 16, 2009

Here's a sample of what the fleece looks like.

During cold weather games, many fans bring a blanket with them to the stadium to stay warm. The MLB Insiders Club has recently come out with their own blankets, presumably to be used in this manner, to be passed out to their members.

The fleece blankets have a common design, but one can acquire it with whatever team logo they want. The blanket features the team’s primary logo in the center of the blanket with the secondary logo in the upper right hand corner. The team’s name is depicted on both the upper left and lower right corners with the Insiders’ logo appearing on the lower left corner. Both the secondary logo and the Insiders’ logo appear on top of the team’s secondary color which is sectioned off by stitches as if the corners were part of an actual baseball.

The seam of the blanket has a string going around it. It doesn’t actually hold any part of the blanket together; it is simply there for the look.

The blanket is comparable to the fleece blankets that have been giving out at stadiums across the country as a way to get people to the parks (much like bobble head dolls) over the past couple seasons. These specific blankets do seem to be a bit heavier than the giveaway items would be, but they are by no mean’s going to replace someone’s comforter.

The fleece fixture is almost large enough to fit the entire size of a twin bed. The warmth is not great, but could possibly be used as an extra layer or as the primary blanket on a brisk afternoon. The appearance is the most appealing part of the featured blanket as the colors really do stand out and the team logo reverberates with the darker background.

This product can only be acquired by joining the MLB Insiders’ club. It is currently the major free gift that the club is offering to its newest members. The club primarily accrues its members on an invitation bases only, but it is possible to join without an invite if one simply looks up the club online. The blanket does take about three months after joining the club to arrive in the mail, but it does come free with membership.

The adornment would probably be served best as something that was on display, rather than actually in use. Either hanging it up or draping it over the back of a couch would create a great addition to any fans’ den.

There are many other member benefits for joining the club including a year of the MLB Insiders Club Magazine (a review of which will be featured on BaseballReflections.com in the coming weeks), an opportunity to try new MLB products not yet released to the public, books that are only available to club members and various trinkets such as stickers and key chains.

Be warned that if one does join the club that they do tend to try to get people to purchase extra entities without being explicit about their true intentions. While this is true, they do an excellent job of understanding and canceling any membership or payments if a client is displeased with their service, usually without any questions asked.

The Grade: 3.25/5.

Bill Jordan is a contributor to BaseballReflections.com. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].