The popularity of professional baseball is intense. On the 5th, it surpassed a record-low of 3 million spectators in a game. As explosive as the popularity is, products related to baseball, including uniforms, are flying off the shelves.
The Samsung Lions, which is leading the attendance among the 10 clubs, is no exception.
It is not uncommon to see long lines at the Lions team store inside Daegu Samsung Lions Park, where various products are sold. In particular, the sales of uniforms are astonishing. There are times when they can't sell them because they are out of stock.
Samsung revealed the uniform sales rankings for April. The top seller was "Captain" Koo Ja-wook (outfielder). While the specific sales figures were not disclosed, Koo Ja-wook's uniform sold the most.
Koo Ja-wook had a career-high season last year. He played in 129 games, with a batting average of .343 (169 hits in 493 at-bats), 33 home runs, 115 RBIs, 92 runs, and 13 stolen bases. He set personal bests in both home runs and RBIs for a single season.
The second place went to infielder Lee Jae-hyun, who was a first-round draft pick. The "Blue Blood Ace" Won Tae-in, who ranked tied for first in victories last year, secured third place.
"Little Giant" Kim Ji-chan (outfielder) ranked 4th. Notably, "Super Rookie" Bae Chan-seung (pitcher) ranked 5th. Kim Young-woong, who hit a personal single-season best home runs (28), took 6th place. Former national team catcher Kang Min-ho recorded 7th place.
Meanwhile, Samsung is garnering positive responses from fans by introducing various uniforms and merchandise, including the popular fashion brand "Sansan Gear" among the MZ generation and Gen Z, as well as collaborating with Kakao's character "Jjonnyami" and Everland's Bao Family.
Cha Sung-soo, a professional from the marketing team in charge of the collaboration business, said, "Since last year, we have heard many requests from fans asking for collaborations. We have prepared various projects since the last off-season, and we were able to launch three collaborations in time for the season opening."
He also added, "We are preparing to try more diverse collaboration projects in the second half of the season."
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