The Los Angeles Dodgers’ string of success didn’t end with their World Series Championship this week; the club also set some retail sales records.
When Walker Buehler got Alex Verdugo of the New York Yankees to strike out, Dodgers fans rushed online, setting a new record for merchandise sales within the first hour after a championship clinch. This stat is according to Fanatics, who confirmed this was the highest initial sales figure across all sports throughout the online sports merch giant’s history.
Within the first twelve hours of the victory, Dodgers merchandise sales were also 20% higher than during the same timeframe after their win four years ago back during the pandemic in 2020.
Why is this? Well, they certainly got some help from the team’s sudden influx of fans in Japan. As you’d imagine, Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were among the top-sellers regarding player-themed merch, with Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, and World Series MVP Freddie Freeman also ranking high.
(For what it’s worth, our Dodgers World Series gear affiliate links reported much fewer sales than usual. Maybe we don’t have too many Japanese readers!)