Giants' Madison Bumgarner leads jersey sales at halfway point
— -- Winning a third title and being named World Series MVP has done wonders for San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner's popularity.
Bumgarner has had the best-selling MLB jersey in the first half of the season, according to the league's official website.
Three Giants -- Bumgarner, Buster Posey (No. 3) and Hunter Pence (No. 6) -- have their jerseys ranked in the top 10.
In less than three months in the league, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant ranks second. In fact, since making his debut, 15 signed cards of Bryant, who signed a memorabilia deal with Fanatics last week, have sold for more than $5,000 each.
Youth continues to be a theme as six of the top 10-selling jerseys belong to players who are 26 or younger: Bumgarner (25), Bryant (23), No. 5 Bryce Harper (22), No. 7 Mike Trout (23), No. 8 Matt Harvey (26) and No. 10 Anthony Rizzo (25).
Of the top 10 NBA jerseys last season, three players were 26 and under ( Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin). In the NFL, of the best-selling player merchandise for last year, according to NFL Players Inc., four players in the top 10 were 26 or younger ( Russell Wilson, J.J. Watt, Dez Bryant and Johnny Manziel).
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has the fourth-best-selling jersey, and Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is No. 9.
It was the first time since MLB began releasing jersey sales data in 2010 that a player from the New York Yankees was not ranked among the top 20 for the first half of the season.
