Ronald Acuna Jr. Cements His Place Among MLB’s Most Popular Players
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels is MLB’s most popular player.
We saw that in the days leading up to the World Baseball Classic and in the tournament, not to mention once the season started and still to this day.
However, a new competitor has burst onto the scene, and that’s amazing for baseball.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is the most popular name among fans buying a jersey in the first half of the season, according to the league.
.@ronaldacunajr24 leads MLB’s Top 10 most popular jerseys of the first half!
Which one of these jerseys would you want next? pic.twitter.com/dJmhpA4D5K
— MLB (@MLB) July 10, 2023
The Braves’ young phenom has been the National League’s best player prior to the All-Star break.
He has slashed an incredible .331/.408/.582 with 21 home runs and 41 stolen bases.
Only Esteury Ruiz of the Oakland Athletics has more thefts than Acuna.
The Venezuelan star has seen his popularity rise dramatically in 2023, which has been a rebound season after his diminished 2022 numbers.
Acuna leads MLB in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) among position players using the FanGraphs version, with 4.8.
He also paces baseball in runs scored (79) and expected wOBA (weighted on-base average) with .459.
Ohtani is second in the jersey sales ranking, and San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is third.
2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge is fourth on the list even though he has missed lots of games with injuries this season and is still on the shelf; and 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve is fifth.
This goes to show that Ohtani is not the only recognizable MLB star, as many people believe.
There are lots of young, exciting stars in the game and the league should do a better job in the marketing department.
Read More: Ronald Acuna Jr. Cements His Place Among MLB’s Most Popular Players