Although in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s appeal among baseball fans is eons from fading into the sunset.
According to a joint release by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player Association, Jeter, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay top the list of baseball’s most popular jerseys. The rankings were based on sales of official Majestic jerseys for the 2010 calendar year.
Players representing 11 different clubs made up the list of the 20 most popular jerseys—including seven of the eight teams that made the playoffs in 2010—with players from seven different teams comprising the top ten.
At the age of 36, Jeter represented as the elder statesman of the group, but yet his jersey still managed to outsell those of his younger counterparts, including the three rookie sensations that appeared on the list (Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey).
The Yankees captain was joined on the list by teammates Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, who had the ninth and eleventh best-selling jerseys respectively.
The Phillies had the most players in the top 20 with four (Halladay, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard).
The list was comprised of two catchers, four pitchers, ten infielders, four outfielders, 16 players who made the 2010 All-Star Game and 15 players who were members of teams that qualified for the postseason.
MLB Most Popular Jerseys
Based on Majestic 2010 sales figures
1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
2. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
3. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
4. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
5. *Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
6. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
7. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
8. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
9. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
10. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
11. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
12. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
13. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
14. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
15. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
16. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
17. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
18. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
19. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
20. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
*Lee played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in 2010, before signing with Philadelphia in November. His ranking reflects sales of jerseys for all three teams.
In a related news item, Major League Baseball also announced that sales of officially licensed MLB merchandise reached an all-time high in 2010, with total licensing revenues up six percent over the previous year.
Products featuring the marks of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies and Cubs were the hottest sellers last year.
MLB Licensing 2010 Club Rankings
Based on sales of all licensed products for the 2010 calendar year
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Chicago Cubs
6. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Atlanta Braves
9. Minnesota Twins
10. Detroit Tigers
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