Acuna Jr. beats out Ohtani to lead 2023 MLB first-half jersey sales

The current Major League Baseball jersey sales leader for the first half of 2023 is a heavy MVP favorite who has quickly become a household name — but not the one you might expect.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had the top-selling jersey in the league over the past three-plus months, beating out Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, whose jersey sales came in at No. 2.

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. had the third-highest selling MLB jersey despite missing the early part of the season while finishing up the remainder of his 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs handed down in 2022. Defending American League MVP Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros rounded out the top five, respectively.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, the Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez, the Braves’ Matt Olson, the Astros’ Alex Bregman and the Angels’ Mike Trout rounded out the top 10.

While Ohtani has continued displaying unprecedented skill both on the mound and at the plate, Acuña is having a record-setting season of his own. He became the first player in MLB history to record over 20 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 50 RBIs before the All-Star break, and is well on pace to become the fifth player ever to join MLB’s “40-40 club” by recording 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. 

The others are Alfonso Soriano in 2006 with the Washington Nationals, current MLB on FOX analyst Alex Rodriguez in 1998 with the Mariners, Barry Bonds in 1996 with the San Francisco Giants and Jose Canseco with the Oakland Athletics in 1988.

But Acuna is far from the only star on the Braves. With Austin Riley at No. 11 and Ozzie Albies at No. 12, Atlanta has four players in the top 12 of MLB jersey sales in the first half of 2023, a deserving honor for the team with MLB’s best first-half record at 60-29.

As for No. 13, beloved Cincinnati Reds veteran star Joey Votto joked he might have influenced his own jersey sales rankings a bit.

The rest of the top 20 included, in order: Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles, Manny Machado of the Padres and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers.

The vast majority of those players — including Acuna, Betts, Rodríguez, Seager, Rutschman and more — can be seen taking part in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game at 8 p.m. Tuesday on FOX and the FOX Sports App.