By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Shohei Ohtani jerseys continue to fly off the shelves after the Japanese star helped the Dodgers to a World Series title last year with his global popularity showing no sign of cooling.
Last season Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season and he has turned Dodger Stadium into a tourist destination for Japanese fans making the transpacific voyage to see their national hero.
The reigning National League MVP has led sales in the U.S., Japan and globally for 18 consecutive months and continues to do so as the 2025 season gets under way with the Dodgers having had a perfect 5-0 to start the campaign.
Hitting-pitcher Ohtani so far has two home runs and is batting .333 across those five games. He is expected to return to the pitcher’s mound sometime later this season after right elbow surgery forced him to be solely a hitter last year.
Following Ohtani on the most popular player jersey list are two of his Los Angeles teammates – World Series MVP Freddie Freeman in second and three-time champion Betts in fourth.
Juan Soto, who signed with the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal last off-season, ranked third while Yankees slugger and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge was fifth.
It is the first time in the 26-year-old Soto’s career that his jersey is in the top three league-wide, MLB said.
Rounding out the 10 are Mets pitcher Francisco Lindor, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper, Houston Astros two-time champion Jose Altuve, the Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuna and Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The list accounts for sales of Nike jerseys from the Fanatics network of sites, including MLBShop.com, since the culmination of the 2024 World Series.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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