Another 1st for Ohtani: Most popular MLB jersey in '23

September 29th, 2023

After more awe-inspiring performances on the diamond in 2023 that continued to resonate with fans around the world, Shohei Ohtani finished the season with the most popular player jersey in MLB. After appearing in the top 10 after two prior seasons (2018 & 2021), this is the first season that Ohtani finished atop the league-wide rankings and the first time that a Japanese player has reached no. 1. Ohtani’s fellow MVP teammate Mike Trout (#10) continued his streak of appearing in every most popular player jersey list since his rookie season in 2012.

• Check out top selling jersey in the MLB Shop

Ronald Acuña Jr.’s record-setting season as the first ballplayer in history with 40 home runs and 70 steals propelled him to have the second-most popular player jersey in MLB. Heading into the Postseason with the best record in Baseball, Acuña and fellow All-Stars Matt Olson (#8), Austin Riley (#12) and Ozzie Albies (#18) make the Braves the most well-represented Club on the Most Popular Player Jersey list. The list, released jointly today by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, tallied sales from MLBShop.com of Nike player jerseys this season.

In addition to the Braves, players from six other Postseason contenders fill out much of the 2023 rankings, including young stars in their first years on the list. In fighting for the AL West title, the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros feature two players in the top 20 with Jose Altuve (#6) and Alex Bregman (#9). On the verge of their 11th consecutive Postseason appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers are represented by All-Stars Mookie Betts (#5) and Freddie Freeman (#16). Seattle Mariners 22-year-old All-Star Julio Rodríguez (#7) and Baltimore Orioles 25-year-old catcher Adley Rutschman (#20), who both made their debuts on the most popular player jersey list at the All-Star break, are now setting their sights on Postseason baseball. Rodríguez is the first Mariners player to ever finish a season in the top 10 of most popular jerseys since MLB began announcing these rankings in 2010, while Rutschman is the first Orioles player since Adam Jones and Manny Machado (2014) to finish a season on the most popular jersey list.

Cincinnati Reds rookie star shortstop Elly De La Cruz (#16) makes his debut on the most popular player jersey list alongside teammate and six-time All-Star Joey Votto (#13). The 21-year-old De La Cruz is the youngest player on the list and the youngest player to appear on the list since Acuña in 2018 while Votto, in his 17th MLB season, re-joined the end-of-season rankings for the first time since 2012 – the longest span ever between appearances on the list for any player. This is the first time that more than one Reds player has ranked amongst the top 20 most popular jerseys and the first time since 2015 (Todd Frazier) that a Reds player has finished a season in the top 20.

This season's MLB jersey sales continue to represent the international makeup of today’s MLB with players from various countries and territories dominating the top spots. Ten of the top 20 players were born outside of the United States. These players represent Canada (Guerrero, Votto), Curaçao (Albies), the Dominican Republic (De La Cruz, Rodríguez, Tatis), Japan (Ohtani), Puerto Rico (Lindor) and Venezuela (Acuña, Altuve).