As the Triple-A PCL San Antonio Missions on Thursday transformed into the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio, the team "set up a stand capable of accommodating four customers at a time" because of the high "demand to buy gear for the best-selling alter ego" in MiLB, according to Greg Luca of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. Missions Dir of Merchandise John Rebholz said, "Once the season starts, we can’t have it in the store, because it would overwhelm the store." The Flying Chanclas "have 24 different hats and 14 T-shirts." Some have "last year’s image of the chancla flying through the air" while others "show the updated logo, with the chancla hitting its target." Rebholz said that the team’s hat inventory alone is "valued at about a quarter-million dollars, with two-thirds of that devoted to the Flying Chanclas." Rebholz said that the Chanclas hats are the "biggest seller" and that "demand for the team’s merchandise extends to all 50 states." The team's name change, which "will be in effect for home games on Thursdays this season, is part of the return of MiLB’s Copa de la Diversion." According to MiLB, the Flying Chanclas "generated the most team-controlled retail sales last year with more than $700,000 in revenue" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/12).
