The traditionally moribund Philadelphia Phillies, the lovable-loser Chicago Cubs and the sometimes-hapless Cleveland Indians are in the playoffs. So are the major-market New York Yankees, Boston
Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels. And their merchandise is selling so fast that Major League Baseball is having a hard time keeping up.
With a regular season that went down to the final
weekend--and beyond, in the case of the Colorado Rockies--the confluence of big markets, rabid fan bases and potential storybook endings is pushing memorabilia sales. "Suffice it to say it is at a
record pace, for sure," says Howard Smith, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of licensing.
In a year with relatively ho-hum playoffs, MLB might see the postseason produce
about 5% of its merchandise sales, says Smith. This year, it could be as high as 20%. While the league does not release sales figures, the manufacturers association reported total sales of MLB
merchandise were $3.1 billion in 2005, the last year for which figures were available. That was up from $2.9 billion in 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series.
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