Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers jersey sales set 48-hour record at Fanatics

Shohei Ohtani entered free agency as one of the most anticipated players to ever hit the open market. In the end, he chose to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s a move that clearly has MLB fans incredibly excited.

Fans are so excited that Ohtani’s Dodgers jersey sales set a 48-hour record at Fanatics. This broke a record that was previously held by Lionel Messi. That’s according to Fanatics itself, though the company did not release any numbers associated with that record.

Along with Messi, Ohtani also passed Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Fields, and Bryce Harper.

Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Shohei Ohtani is setting a record for jersey sales. After all, he’s an international superstar who is doing something that has never been done before at the MLB level. Even Babe Ruth, who Ohtani is often compared to, stopped pitching once he got to New York after mostly pitching and not hitting in Boston. Ohtani is doing them at the same time.

Ohtani is a two-time MVP, Rookie of the Year, and three-time All-Star. He has a career batting average of .274 with an on-base percentage of .366 and an OPS of .922. All of those career numbers are below his numbers for the 2023 season. He also has 171 career home runs, 124 of which came in the last three seasons.

On top of that, Shohei Ohtani just signed one of the most remarkable contracts in the history of professional sports. He signed with the Dodgers for 10 years and $700 million. However, in the hopes that Los Angeles would have money for more stars, he is only going to be paid $2 million per year during the contract. The other $680 million is getting deferred.

Because of that, the Dodgers might not be done yet. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a prized Japanese pitcher coming to MLB and Los Angeles is one of the biggest suitors for his services. Adding Yamamoto to a team with a murderer’s row of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani would instantly make the Dodgers one of the World Series favorites.

Shohei Ohtani underwent elbow surgery

In the second half of the 2023 season, Shohei Ohtani had a disaster as he continued to push his body for the Los Angeles Angels. While on the mound, he suffered an elbow injury that required surgery.

“Shohei had his procedure this morning at Kerlan & Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles,” his agent said. “The final decision and type of procedure was made with a heavy emphasis on the big picture. Shohei wanted to make sure the direction taken gave him every opportunity to hit and pitch for many years to come. Shohei is resting and in good spirits and excited to be on the road to recovery.”

There was concern that the injury would limit Ohtani’s free agent market. However, that clearly didn’t happen. He still got the biggest contract in MLB history, even though he won’t be pitching until 2025 due to the surgery.