Shohei Ohtani's 2024 was full of firsts. He became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, and he did it in his first year with the Dodgers.
As the regular season came to a close, he added another "first" to that list, but it's a first ... for a second time.
MLB and MLB Players, Inc. announced Ohtani had the sport's highest-selling jersey for the second consecutive year, although this year, of course, those sales were in Dodger blue instead of Angels red. The count was based on MLBShop.com sales of Nike jerseys since Opening Day.
Here's the top 10:
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
- Juan Soto, New York Yankees
- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
- Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
- Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
On the season, Ohtani slashed .310/.390/.646 with 54 home runs and 130 RBI, narrowly missing out on the NL's first Triple Crown since the Cardinals' Joe Medwick did it in 1937.
Harper, who wasn't even in the top 20 last season, jumped all the way to second as the Phillies won the NL East, and Judge was No. 3 for the second straight year. Betts jumped from fifth last year to fourth this year. He, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman (18th) and Clayton Kershaw (19th) made up the four Dodgers players in the top 20 this season. Lindor, like Harper, made a massive leap to the top five after finishing 19th last year.