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.

Are Tony Parker & Eva Longoria the Reason NY Yankees' Derek Jeter Isn't Married?

With the recent announcement that actress Eva Longoria has filed for divorce from San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, eyes widened and jaws dropped all across the country. Especially in light of the discovery of numerous text messages from Parker to Erin Barry, the wife of former teammate Brent Barry.

Unfortunately though, the impending dissolution of the Parkers’ three-year marriage shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at all. Over the course of the past several decades, the professional sports landscape is replete with evidence that marital fidelity has gradually become a dying concept.

The reality is polls and studies indicate that while nearly half of marriages within the general population end in divorce, a discouraging statistic intrinsically, the divorce rate among professional athletes is between 60 and 80 percent.

What’s even more disheartening is there are no viable solutions in sight because the contributing factors to this dilemma are inherent to the occupation.

Much like actors, actresses and music artists, professional athletes are increasingly hard pressed to give what it emotionally, mentally and spiritually requires to sustain a marriage.

Between what is necessitated to keep their bodies in peak condition, rigorous travel schedules and numerous public appearances, among other time commitments, it appears that when they utter the words ‘I do/will’ athletes are married to their profession and public image more than their actual spouses.

But what truly takes its toll on the marriage of a professional sports athlete is the temptations associated their celebrity status. And the most irresistible of them all, particularly for male athletes, is sex.

Day in and day out, today’s male athlete is bombarded by offers from attractive women who will go to extreme lengths for the monetary gain and/or thrill of ‘bedding’ one. An allurement that would test the moral character and fiber of any married man.

On the flip side of the coin, the aforementioned ease of access to sexual trysts often results in pursuits of those experiences by the athletes themselves. And the results can be extremely devastating.

Marital infidelity, broken unions and even the contraction of the AIDS virus have plagued the lives of athletes from all walks of life, from Kobe Bryant to ‘Magic’ Johnson to Tiger Woods.

The marriage of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria is simply the latest and one of the most publicized to fall victim to this incurable epidemic.

Male athletes and their wives may enter the institution with the best of intentions. But because they either spend more time preparing for a lavish wedding than the reality of marriage or take for granted the level of commitment to sustain it, up to eight out of 10 fall by the wayside.

This brings us to the curious case of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who has dated a bevy of beautiful starlets including Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jordana Brewster and Mariah Carey.

But yet at 36-years-old, even with Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive, Minka Kelly, on his arm nowadays, the captain of Major League Baseball’s most valuable team and America’s favorite baseball player has managed to elude the bite of the marriage bug.

So although becoming a husband and a father would have enhanced his already squeaky clean public persona, Jeter has chosen the road less traveled.

Now is it because Jeter is fully cognizant of how taxing being a professional athlete is on a marriage or is the freedom that comes with being single too difficult to give up for the eleven-time All-Star?

Or is it both?

Either way, today’s male athlete should be more contemplative about getting married when the plethora of challenges that come with playing professional sports are thrown into the equation.

So whether it’s the divorce of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria, the Tiger Woods sex scandal or ‘Magic’ Johnson contracting the AIDS virus, as surprising as those stories are, the level of shock should be at an absolute minimum at this point.

Athletes can do extraordinary things on the field, but they are only human. And fame and fortune can be as much of a curse as they are a blessing.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special report on the impending divorce of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria.

America's 10 Favorite Sports Stars

With five World Series Championships, eleven All-Star appearances and, arguably, the most clean cut image in professional sports today under his belt, it’s not difficult to see why New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter is viewed as the most marketable player in Major League Baseball according to a survey of baseball media, corporate brand managers and marketing executives. And when baseball fans and sports fans alike were invited to weigh in on the subject, the results for Jeter were equally impressive.

According to a Harris Interactive poll of 2,227 adults surveyed online between June 14 and June 21, 2010, Jeter is America’s third Favorite Sports Star and the country’s Favorite MLB Star. The four-time Gold Glove Award winner moved up two spots from the fifth position he held last year and was the only baseball player to appear in the top ten of America’s Favorite Sports Stars.

Despite his personal life coming under tremendous scrutiny after the revelation of multiple marital infidelities, professional golfer Tiger Woods finished tied for the top spot with Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant. The five-time NBA Champion moved up three places from the 2009 poll to end up in a dead-heat with Woods, who was the country’s undisputed favorite sports star since 2006.

Exactly 40% of the poll’s top five and top ten consisted of players from the National Football League and all of them are those slotted at the quarterback position.

Minnesota Vikings signal caller Brett Favre and Indianapolis Colts field general Peyton Manning, the losing quarterback in Super Bowl XLIV, rounded out the top five by finishing 4th and 5th respectively.

Meanwhile, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the Super Bowl XLIV Most Valuable Player, finished just ahead of NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 8th and 9th spots respectively.

The National Basketball Association was represented by Miami Heat small forward LeBron James, who dropped three places to the 6th spot, and Charlotte Bobcats majority owner Michael Jordan who, although retired since 2003, came in 7th after finishing second last year.

The complete listing of America’s Favorite Sports Stars for 2010 is as follows:

1. Tiger Woods (PGA)
1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
3. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (MLB)
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
5. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
6. LeBron James, Miami Heat (NBA)
7. Michael Jordan (NBA)
8. Tom Brady, New England Patriots (NFL)
9. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (NFL)
10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (NASCAR)

Ultimately though, enough can’t be said about Derek Jeter and what he has meant to the New York Yankee organization and the game of baseball. Since 1996, Jeter has unselfishly produced year in and year out on the field while exhibiting behavior off it that never casts him in a negative light.

This begs the question is Jeter the last of a dying breed in a day and age where individuality and self-promotion is king?

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

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