The Yankees are looking to make the most of Shohei Ohtani’s presence in the Bronx this weekend, even going so far as to sell New Era hats featuring both Ohtani’s No. 17 and Aaron Judge’s No. 99 when the two stars face off in the only Yankees-Dodgers series of 2024.
The hat is Shared by MLB According to X’s post, Judge’s uniform number is printed on the right side of the front, and Ohtani’s number 17 is printed on the left side.
That wasn’t the only merch added to this weekend’s three-game set: The Yankees also sold Ohtani jerseys, a joint Ohtani/Judge bobblehead doll, and even a shirt that read, “Bronx Home Run Showdown.”
Bobblehead, According to ESPN:which will cost about $150.
Also, in response to an MLB social media post asking “Would you wear this?” many users seemed to agree that they wouldn’t, in fact, wear it.
“Who was this made for?” one user askedWith an emoji of a face crying tears of joy.
“What the hell is this trash in the trash can?” Another user wrote.
Still, there was something unusual happening in the Yankee Stadium concession area before the series began, as Ohtani doubled and served as the designated hitter against Yankees starter Cody Poteet in a lineup that also included Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
He forced Poteet into a full count before grounding out to second base in his first at-bat.
Ohtani, who won his second AL MVP award last season, is batting .318 with a .973 OPS, 15 homers and 40 RBIs since signing a 10-year, $700 million contract in the offseason, though most of those have been deferred.
Last year, Ohtani’s No. 17, which was printed on Angels uniforms at the time, became MLB’s best-selling jersey for the first time after finishing in the top 10 in 2018 and 2021. According to MLB.com:.
And in 2024, he helped the Dodgers get swept by the Mets last month and Los Angeles is eight games behind the Padres in first place in the National League West heading into the weekend. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Friday night against the Yankees.
