Yankees Team Store is Selling Shohei Ohtani Jerseys, Dodgers Merchandise

Even the New York Yankees have been capitalizing on the Los Angeles Dodgers brand. The Yankees team store has been seen selling Dodgers merchandise during the World Series, including Shohei Ohtani jerseys. The Yankees team store sold Dodgers jerseys as well as shirts featuring both Ohtani Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge.

It’s unusual to see a team store selling the merchandise from other teams, especially when that other team is currently beating them in a World Series. The Dodgers have a 3-0 lead over the Yankees in the World Series, and are one win away from officially winning the series. The Dodgers beat the Yankees at home in the first two games of the series, before coming up with another win at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

The Dodgers are one team that other franchises have capitalized on for profit, especially since they acquired Ohtani, who is the most popular player in baseball.

The San Francisco Giants appeared to be one of the teams to capitalize on the Dodgers brand earlier this season. Ahead of the Giants-Dodgers series, the Giants announced two giveaways related to the Dodgers. The first giveaway featured the Giants giving out “Beat L.A.” shirts. The second giveaway saw the Giants passing out Mickey Mouse ears, which appeared to be a reference to when the Dodgers won the World Series in 2020, a title that has since been labelled a “Mickey Mouse World Series.“

Still, it’s odd to see the Yankees selling Dodgers gear at their own team store. Plenty of Dodgers fans are likely in attendance at Yankee Stadium for the World Series, but out of principle, the Yankees should not sell the merchandise of their rival at this time. Even outside of the marketing power of Ohtani and the Dodgers, the Yankees do have multiple stars in their own right including Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton.

The Yankees and Dodgers have a long and storied rivalry as well. The two teams are playing against each other in the World Series for the 12th time, an MLB record. The Yankees have an overall 8-3 edge over the Dodgers in these matchups. This is the first World Series between the two teams since 1981.

Game 4 of the World Series takes place on Tuesday at 5:08 p.m. PT. It could very well be the last game of the 2024 season.