The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the Bronx facing the New York Yankees this weekend in a renewal of an old-school rivalry between two of the most historic franchises in MLB.
There is always a good amount of star power on display when these two teams go head-to-head. But this year has a little extra excitement behind it with Shohei Ohtani joining the likes of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on the Dodgers’ side and Juan Soto joining Aaron Judge for the Yankees.
The Yankee Stadium team store is using this meeting as an opportunity to sell some unique merchandise to mark the occasion, including a hat to represent both Ohtani and Judge, via the New York Post Sports:
Yankees are selling Ohtani and Judge split hats
How do we feel about this? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/9J2hYQbUcA
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 7, 2024
The hat features a mashup of two of the best players the sport has to offer today, even though they reside in opposite dugouts.
This season, Judge is batting .296/.430/.674 with 22 home runs and 56 RBI. Ohtani has been just as good, batting .313/.379/.575 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI.
Yankee Stadium is also selling Ohtani Dodgers jerseys, according to X user @marioagomez_1:
The Yankees are selling Ohtani jerseys. pic.twitter.com/qgqyOz048H
— Mario G (@marioagomez_1) June 7, 2024
It is not the first time that the Yankees have sold a visiting team’s jersey in their stadium when Ohtani comes to town. They did the same thing last season when Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels came to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series.
With MLB’s revenue sharing system and many fans going to games specifically to see Ohtani, it makes sense for opposing teams to capitalize on that opportunity.
Dodgers and Yankees Series got off to a great start
This weekend’s matchup between the Dodgers and the Yankees was arguably the most anticipated series up to this point in the MLB season. It is always a big deal when these two teams play each other, and this series is no exception.
It created an environment that Kiké Hernández likened to a playoff atmosphere. The first game lived up to the hype, with the Dodgers pulling off a 2-1 victory after 11 innings of play, while the second game was a blowout win for the Dodgers.
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
