Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant proved he was worth every bit of the hype as a rookie. Based on jersey sales, it appears Bryant’s emergence has already made him one of baseball’s most popular stars.
Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reported the NL Rookie of the Year favorite led all players in jersey sales during the regular season, followed by San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
Bryant, 23, finished the regular season with a .275/.369/.488 slash line, belting 26 home runs and driving in 99 runs. His 6.3 wins above replacement ranks 10th among position players and by far the best among fellow first-year players, per FanGraphs. Matt Duffy of the Giants, who had a 4.9 WAR, is the only rookie remotely close.
Bryant is joined in the top 10 by teammate Anthony Rizzo, who is eighth in sales. Rizzo hit .278/.387/.512 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI, finishing 15th in WAR. The Cubs and Giants were the only teams with multiple players in the top 10. Here is a look at the full list, courtesy of Rovell:
San Francisco has three players in the top seven overall, thanks in large part to its World Series win a year ago. Bumgarner, who went 18-9 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.01 WHIP this season, became one of the sport’s biggest stars with a brilliant run last October. He was responsible for two wins and a save in the deciding game against the Kansas City Royals and was named the World Series MVP.
Catcher Buster Posey, third in jersey sales, has long been the club’s foundational position player. He made his third All-Star team in 2015 and has already been an integral part of three championship teams. Teammate Hunter Pence, seventh on the list, is another three-time All-Star who remained among the biggest sellers despite playing only 52 games.
Overall, the list is one that has to be comforting to Major League Baseball. Pence is by far the oldest player in the top 10 at age 32. The other nine players are all in their 20s, none older than the soon-to-be 29-year-old Andrew McCutchen. Baseball is in the midst of a talent renaissance, and there may be no better indicator of the sport’s bright future than the youth of its jersey sales leaders.
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