Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was ranked third amongst top-selling jerseys through the first half of the 2016 season, the Major League Baseball Players Association announced. The list was based on sales from MLBShop.com of Majestic jerseys between Jan. 1 and the 2016 All-Star Game.
Kershaw ranked fourth, behind San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (first), Chicago’s Kris Bryant and San Francisco’s Buster Posey, in the same update last season. In no surprise, Boston Red Sox designated hitter and legend David Ortiz had the best-selling jersey thus far.
Aside from playing for a storied franchise, Ortiz is in his 20th and final season. Meanwhile, similar to how the Chicago Cubs dominated fan voting for the 87th All-Star Game at Petco Park, they have a strong presence on the list.
Three Cubs ranked in the top 10 for jersey sales, with Kris Bryant at No. 2, Anthony Rizzo at No.4, and Jake Arrieta ranked No. 7. Along with ranking second at the midway point of 2015, Bryant’s jersey was first in sales by the end of 2015, his rookie season. Kershaw came in fourth place.
Like the Cubs, the reigning World Series champion Kansas City Royals are well-represented on the midseason list, with four players cracking the top 20. First to appear is Salvador Perez at No. 11, and he’s followed by Eric Hosmer at No. 12, Alex Gordon at No. 15 and Lorenzo Cain rounds out the quartet at No. 18.
Bumgarner, whose jersey was ranked first in sales at this point last season, fell to No. 16. At No. 20 in 2015, Adrian Gonzalez was not ranked this year, leaving Kershaw as the Dodgers’ lone representative. Full list from first half of 2016 below:
1. David Ortiz (Red Sox)
2. Kris Bryant (Cubs)
3. Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)
4. Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)
5. Mike Trout (Angels)
6. Buster Posey (Giants)
7. Jake Arrieta (Cubs)
8. Yadier Molina (Cardinals)
9. Bryce Harper (Nationals)
10. Noah Syndergaard (Mets)
11. Salvador Perez (Royals)
12. Eric Hosmer (Royals)
13. Jacob deGrom (Mets)
14. Andrew McCutchen (Pirates)
15. Alex Gordon (Royals)
16. Madison Bumgarner (Giants)
17. David Wright (Mets)
18. Lorenzo Cain (Royals)
19. Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays)
20. Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)