The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the 2026 MLB season with lofty-but-fair expectations that simply match their recent results on the field.
Coming off back-to-back World Series titles, the Dodgers open the year as one of the most closely watched teams in baseball, with a roster built around two-way superstar and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Opening Day also marks the start of another push toward history for the Los Angeles franchise, as the Dodgers are attempting to win a third consecutive World Series.
That's a feat only two franchises—the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees—have accomplished in Major League Baseball history, but the Dodgers' roster continuity, added to the two high-profile offseason additions in outfielder Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Diaz, have the franchise as the clear-cut favorites to go all the way.
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The latest MLB announcement only added even more attention to the Dodgers, as the league revealed on Thursday its list of most popular player jerseys entering 2026, based on sales from Fanatics since the end of the 2025 World Series.
To little surprise, Shohei Ohtani once again topped the list, continuing a stretch that has lasted for 30 consecutive months across the United States, Japan and worldwide Fanatics sites.
With that news confirmed, Ohtani is opening the season with the most popular MLB jersey for the third consecutive year after helping lead the Dodgers to another championship and drawing even more attention during the 2026 World Baseball Classic after earning MVP of the tournament in its 2023 edition.
Besides having Ohtani leading the way, it's fair to say that the Dodgers dominated the jersey-sale rankings through and through.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished second, marking the first time two Japanese-born players hold the top two spots entering a season. Mookie Betts ranked fifth, Freddie Freeman seventh and Kike Hernandez 12th, giving Los Angeles five players in the top 20 and four in the top 10.
The rest of the list included Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at No. 3 and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh at No. 4, rounding out the top five best-selling jerseys.
Los Angeles will get its three-peat chase started on Thursday when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 8:30 p.m. ET.
