David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia Top List Of Highest-Selling MLB Jerseys In Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- Everyone wants to be like the world champs.
For baseball fans, that meant scooping up Red Sox jerseys en masse during the offseason, after the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals for the World Series.
According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the No. 1-selling jersey from Oct. 31-March 14 was that of David Ortiz, and the second-best-selling jersey was that of Dustin Pedroia.
Many fans may have already owned Ortiz jerseys from his postseason heroics in 2004 or his second Boston championship in 2007, but a newfound surge was born from Big Papi's performance in the World Series. Ortiz batted .688 with two doubles and two home runs in six World Series games en route to being named the Series MVP.
Ortiz struggled in the ALCS, going just 2-for-22 for an .091 average, but he also authored the signature moment of the entire postseason run by belting a game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning of Game 2.
Pedroia also won it all with the Sox in 2007, but he's generally credited as being the heart and soul of the Sox these days. He batted just .238 in the postseason, but he drove in five runs during the four-game ALDS win over the Rays while playing Gold Glove defense at second base throughout the playoffs.
The two also starred in what turned out to be one of the funnier photographs of the postseason, when Ortiz acted as though he was going to catch a pop-up after Pedroia had camped out under the ball.
Derek Jeter, who announced that the 2014 season will be his final one in the majors, ranked third on the jersey sales list, ahead of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Giants catcher Buster Posey, in that order. Jacoby Ellsbury, who signed with the Yankees in the offseason after winning the World Series with the Red Sox, ranked 20th on the list.
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