Baseball's Playoff Merchandise Selling Briskly, Especially in Denver

Major League Baseball, helped by fresh postseason entrants like the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians, and large-market representatives New York, Chicago and Boston, is experiencing a boom in playoff merchandise sales.

"We never give out numbers, but suffice it to say it is at a record pace, for sure. We're struggling to keep up with the demand," MLB's Senior Vice President/Licensing Howard Smith told the AP.

Smith said during a typical playoff year "might see the postseason produce about 5 percent of its merchandise sales," but that "could be as high as 20 percent" this season.

The Denver Post reports that the Rockies winning 14 of their last 15 games to earn the National League wild card, then capturing the first two playoff games at Philadelphia, has many local stores scrambling to keep up with demand.

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

The buying frenzy extends to unusual items for baseball fans. After Monday's win against the Padres, Rockies fans "so badly wanted anything with a Rockies logo that all eight Sportsfan stores in Colorado were sold out of thongs and panties by midday -- except the extra-larges," the newspaper said.

The Chicago story is similar.

"Internet sales are through the roof. We can't even keep up with it, selling all over the country and to Europe," said Earl Shaevitz, a co-owner of the Sports World store across from Wrigley Field, where the Cubs will host Arizona tomorrow.

However, the Cubs and their sales drive may be running out of time already. Chicago is down 2-0 to the Diamondbacks and face elimination Arizona on Saturday.

Merchandise sales, like World Series dreams this time of year, can be here today and gone with the wind tomorrow.