Ohtani, Acuña head into break on top of jersey sales
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani were the most popular players on the All-Star Ballot. They're also MLB's most popular jerseys.
The two leaders in the 2023 fan voting for the Midsummer Classic top the list of the best-selling MLB player jerseys of the first half of the season, which was released by MLB and the MLB Players Association on Monday.
Acuña's No. 13 Braves jersey is the No. 1 MLB jersey, and Ohtani's No. 17 Angels jersey is the No. 2 MLB jersey.
Here are the top 20 player jerseys of the first half of 2023. The list is based on sales from MLBShop.com of Nike jerseys since Opening Day.
Most popular MLB player jerseys at the 2023 All-Star break
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
- Shohei Ohtani, Angels
- Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
- Aaron Judge, Yankees
- Jose Altuve, Astros
- Mookie Betts, Dodgers
- Julio Rodríguez, Mariners
- Matt Olson, Braves
- Alex Bregman, Astros
- Mike Trout, Angels
- Austin Riley, Braves
- Ozzie Albies, Braves
- Joey Votto, Reds
- Francisco Lindor, Mets
- Corey Seager, Rangers
- Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
- Yordan Alvarez, Astros
- Adley Rutschman, Orioles
- Manny Machado, Padres
- Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Acuña, who has 21 home runs and 41 stolen bases at the All-Star break and is a National League MVP favorite, is the first Braves player to have MLB's most popular jersey since the rankings were first issued in 2010.
The top 10 jerseys include five fan-elected All-Star starters -- Acuña, Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and Mike Trout, who has appeared in every MLB most popular jersey list since his rookie season. There are seven 2023 All-Stars overall in the top 10, and 14 All-Stars in the top 20.
That includes hometown All-Star Julio Rodríguez -- one of MLB's All-Star Ambassadors for the Midsummer Classic in Seattle along with Mariners legends Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Félix Hernández -- who's among the top 10 jerseys for the first time.
With four players represented, including Acuña at No. 1 overall, the Braves have the most jerseys in the top 20 of any team. The Dodgers and the reigning World Series champion Astros are next with three each.
The most popular jerseys represent the diversity of MLB's superstars. Nine of the top 20 MLB jerseys are players born outside the U.S., including Acuña from Venezuela and Ohtani from Japan, with the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Curaçao, Canada and Puerto Rico also represented. Five of the top 10 jerseys, and nine of the top 10, are players who are either Black or Latino.