Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani surpasses Derek Jeter in worldwide jersey sales ahead of Dodgers debut
Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has surpassed the New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter on all-time jersey sales worldwide in baseball history.
Dan Clark broke the news on X (formerly Twitter).
"Shohei Ohtani has now surpassed Derek Jeter, as the player with the highest number of jerseys sold in baseball history (globally)."
It makes sense that Derek Jeter was the most popular. His jersey is iconic, with the pinstriped number two jersey being instantly recognizable to any baseball fan from any era. He also played in perhaps the most popular era and has several years on Shohei Ohtani.
Last year, Ohtani broke another record after signing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In December, the Japanese star became the record holder for Fanatics jerseys sold in the first 48 hours of release. He surpassed Inter Miami star and soccer legend Lionel Messi.
Why Shohei Ohtani has more jersey sales than anyone
With Shohei Ohtani's incredible popularity, he now has the highest-selling jersey. He ranks above Derek Jeter, whose jersey began selling in 1996. Ohtani has had an MLB uniform since 2018, when he joined the Los Angeles Angels. The time difference makes this extremely impressive.
Now, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a much more popular team, the sales have spiked. The Ohtani Angels jersey was a yearly best-seller, but the Dodgers are arguably the second-most popular MLB team behind the Yankees.
So when a player of Ohtani's stature gets a uniform in the iconic blue, it's a recipe for incredible sales. Those sales have only been going on since December, when he signed for $700 million, but they've boosted him to the top of the global industry.