Is Jeter's Ranking Atop MLB Jersey Sales List A Surprise?

MLB's list of top-selling jerseys for '10 was discussed on ESPN2's "First Take" Thursday, and ESPN.com's Jemele Hill said she was "really surprised" Yankees SS Derek Jeter topped the list. Hill: "I suppose I shouldn't have been because he is in New York, he is a Yankee and he's very high profile." But Hill said she "would have thought someone like" Rangers CF Josh Hamilton, who ranked seventh, would top the list. She said her "first guess would have been" Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols, who ranked sixth. But ESPN's Skip Bayless said he is "not surprised at all" with Jeter topping the list. Bayless: "On the weekends I'm in New York City, and every other corner, No. 2 jerseys. ... He's still by far, to me, the biggest star in by far the biggest market in America. So what's the shock?" ESPN's Jay Crawford added, "I thought everybody that would want a Derek Jeter jersey by now has one. I mean, you would think it would be a young, up-and-coming star, and people were clamoring to get that jersey because they don't have it." Bayless noted he was "shocked" that Giants P Tim Lincecum is "only 10th on this list because I thought after the World Series, he would explode up into the top two or three." Bayless: "He seemed to be appealing to that sort of X Games demo, the younger kids who like that counterculture hero type." But Bayless added what "leaped out about this list is how starless this list looks to me compared to the NBA's list which just leaps with stars" ("First Take," ESPN2, 3/24).

JETER NUMBER ONE AGAIN: Nielsen and E-Poll Thursday released their N-Score rankings, a measurement of the most marketable players in baseball, and Jeter tops the list. He is followed by Yankees P Mariano Rivera, Hamilton and Pujols. The N-Score measures name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at the national and local levels. Jeter also was named MLB's most marketable player in a survey conducted by THE DAILY last July (THE DAILY).

RANK	PLAYER	NATIONAL N-SCORE	LOCAL N-SCORE
1	Yankees SS Derek Jeter	165	407
2	Yankees P Mariano Rivera	56	226
3	Rangers CF Josh Hamilton	40	232
4	Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols	40	471
5	Rays 3B Evan Longoria	39	131
6	Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki	37	454
7	Braves 3B Chipper Jones	36	274
8	Twins C Joe Mauer	36	620
9	Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez	35	151
10	Phillies P Roy Halladay	34	336