New York Yankees Stars Top List of MLB's Best-Selling Jerseys

Although in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s appeal among baseball fans is eons from fading into the sunset.

According to a joint release by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, Jeter, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay top the list of baseball’s most popular jerseys. The rankings were based on sales of official Majestic jerseys for the 2010 calendar year.

Players representing 11 different clubs made up the list of the 20 most popular jerseys—including seven of the eight teams that made the playoffs in 2010—with players from seven different teams comprising the top ten.

At the age of 36, Jeter represented as the elder statesman of the group, but yet his jersey still managed to outsell those of his younger counterparts, including the three rookie sensations that appeared on the list (Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey).

The Yankees captain was joined on the list by teammates Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, who had the ninth and eleventh best-selling jerseys respectively.

The Phillies had the most players in the top 20 with four (Halladay, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard).

The list was comprised of two catchers, four pitchers, ten infielders, four outfielders, 16 players who made the 2010 All-Star Game and 15 players who were members of teams that qualified for the postseason.

MLB Most Popular Jerseys

Based on Majestic 2010 sales figures

1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

2. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

3. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

4. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

5. *Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

6. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

7. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

8. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

9. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

10. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

11. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

12. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves

13. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

14. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

15. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

16. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox

17. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

18. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies

19. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

20. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

*Lee played for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in 2010, before signing with Philadelphia in November. His ranking reflects sales of jerseys for all three teams.

In a related news item, Major League Baseball also announced that sales of officially licensed MLB merchandise reached an all-time high in 2010, with total licensing revenues up six percent over the previous year.

Products featuring the marks of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies and Cubs were the hottest sellers last year.

MLB Licensing 2010 Club Rankings

Based on sales of all licensed products for the 2010 calendar year

1. New York Yankees

2. Boston Red Sox

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

4. Philadelphia Phillies

5. Chicago Cubs

6. St. Louis Cardinals

7. Chicago White Sox

8. Atlanta Braves

9. Minnesota Twins

10. Detroit Tigers

Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.

That Video Of Alex Rodriguez Getting Fed Popcorn By Cameron Diaz

There was a little thing called Super Bowl 45 on yesterday and current Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez attended it with girlfriend, Cameron Diaz.

During the first quarter, the Fox cameras decided to pan over to them and caught A-Rod getting fed by Ms. Diaz:

Does MLB Care about Alex Rodriguez's Assault on History?

A little over a month ago, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez hit the 600th home run of his career, becoming the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to reach the milestone and only the seventh member of the 600-home run club.

Currently, Rodriguez has 605 home runs on his ledger, which places him 4 behind Sammy Sosa on the all-time home run list, 25 behind Ken Griffey, Jr., 55 behind Willie Mays, 109 behind Babe Ruth, 150 behind Hank Aaron and 157 behind Barry Bonds.

Assuming he doesn’t hit another home run this season and averages 32 home runs per year over the next five seasons, Rodriguez will become the all-time home run king in 2015 at the age of 40.

In Monday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez drove in two runs to claim sole ownership of a record he shared with Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig by becoming the only player in baseball history with 14 seasons of 100 or more RBI’s.

In addition, Rodriguez tied Foxx (1929-1941) and Gehrig (1926-1938) for the most consecutive seasons (13) with 100 RBI’s.

Speaking of RBI’s, if he continues to drive in runs at a clip of 100 per season over the next five seasons, Rodriguez will also become the all-time leader in RBI’s; a record that has been held by Hank Aaron for the past 34 years.

So potentially, in a span of less than a decade, the baseball world could helplessly watch the all-time home run record fall for a second time and the all-time RBI mark take a tumble; and the sole man responsible will be none other than Alex Rodriguez.

However, since his 2009 admission to using performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s) from 2001-2003, Rodriguez is no longer viewed as the player who will bring legitimacy back to the baseball record books, especially when it comes to the all-time home run record.

"All my years in New York have been clean,” Rodriguez said in an interview with ESPN where he confessed to his use of PED’s, adding he has not used banned substances since 2003 following a spring training injury while playing for the Texas Rangers.

“Back then, [baseball] was a different culture," Rodriguez said. "It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all-time. I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

The quandary for Rodriguez is the closer he moves to being considered one of the greatest players of all-time, statistically speaking, the more readily apparently it becomes that his career will be treated with the same indifference, respect and reverence as those of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

So in a desire to prove his worth by using PED’s, all Rodriguez did is highlight how far he truly is from being mentioned in the same breath as Aaron, Ruth, Mays and Gehrig, no matter how many records he shatters along the way, and that the size of his bank account will always dwarf his stature in baseball history.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation on Alex Rodriguez's assault on the baseball record books.

Yankees' Alex Rodriguez Severs Ties with Baseball Super Agent Scott Boras

As reported here, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez ranked eighth in a Forbes Magazine poll of the most disliked people in sports; which included such notorious transgressors as Philadelphia Eagles back-up quarterback Michael Vick, professional golfer Tiger Woods and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

One of the reasons why Rodriguez’s image has taken a hit in recent years was the timing of the decision to opt out of his contract with the Yankees, which leaked during Game 4 of the 2007 World Series and subsequently led to a less publicized dispute between A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras.

However, this snafu did not dissuade Rodriguez from instructing Boras to finalize a record-breaking 10-year, $275 million contract to stay in New York, with unique marketing bonuses that could make contract worth $305 million if Rodriguez surpasses Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds on Major League Baseball's all-time home run list.

But although Boras negotiated the two most lucrative contracts in professional sports history for Rodriguez, including a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers in 2000, the high-profile opt-out strained the relationship between Boras and Rodriguez to the point of no return.

According to USA Today, the three-time American League MVP has severed his business relationship with Boras. Instead, Rodriguez has retained Pittsburgh sports attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp, who have been handling his government and legal affairs since February 2009.

Rodriguez’s current deal expires in 2017, when he'll be 43-years-old, so the truth of the matter is, Scott Boras had outlived his usefulness in A-Rod’s universe. If Rodriguez is capable and healthy enough to play in 2018, any contract he receives will be miniscule in comparison to the two previous ones he signed.

And at that stage in Rodriguez’s career, Boras will unquestionably have bigger fish to fry as promising, young clients like Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg should increasingly demand more of his attention.

Therefore, tenuous relationship or not, Rodriguez no longer required Bora’s services and Boras went above and beyond to ensure A-Rod and his family are financially secure for the rest of their lives while lining his own pockets with millions in commissions; which is as mutually symbiotic a relationship that can be found between a player and his agent.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation featuring Scott Boras.

Who Are The Ten Most Marketable Players in Major League Baseball?

As stated in a previous article, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is the most beloved New York professional athlete of this generation and now there is even more compelling evidence to justify this claim.

According to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily, in an exclusive survey of media personalities and sports business executives, Jeter was the unanimous choice as the most marketable player in Major League Baseball.

The survey, conducted by SportsBusiness Daily, was distributed to corporate brand managers, marketing and branding executives, agencies and baseball media, who were asked to list, in order, the top five most marketable players in MLB. Points were awarded on a five-point scale, with a player awarded five points for a first-place vote, four points for second place, etc.

With no other player receiving more than three votes for the top position, Jeter earned an overwhelming 80% of first-place votes and was included on 47 of 49 ballots. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who appeared on 39 ballots, finished a distant second, receiving only two first-place votes.

Although recently finishing in the top ten of the most disliked people in sports, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez ended up ninth on the list, receiving one first-place vote, finishing right behind his Queens counterpart, New York Mets third baseman David Wright, who didn’t garner any first-place votes.

Also noteworthy is Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg receiving three first-place votes, second behind Jeter, to finish fourth in the survey after less than two months in the big leagues. A clear indication that the 21-year-old is well on his way to becoming baseball’s next biggest superstar.

For the Yankees captain, this was the third year he topped the list as baseball’s most marketable player, earning the same honor in 2003 and 2005.

"Derek is so marketable due to his likability, passion, hard work, leadership and most of all, his humility,” Premier Partnerships President & CEO Randy Bernstein said. “He is a proven champion and has led his one and only team to multiple championships while also building up exceptional Hall of Fame statistics."

At the age of 36 and having just played in his 11th All-Star Game, it is crystal clear that Jeter is at the tail end of his career; so Yankees fans and baseball fans would be best served to appreciate him while they still can because a player of Jeter’s talent and stature comes along once in a lifetime.

Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and George M. Steinbrenner, III would certainly be proud of how Jeter has represented himself and the New York Yankee organization.

Here is the complete listing of MLB’s most marketable players for 2010:

1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
4. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
5. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
6. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
7. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
8. David Wright, New York Mets
9. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
10. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox; Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation featuring Derek Jeter.

Credit SportsBusiness Daily