Playoff swag selling at record pace

Combine popular players, big markets, a team on a hot streak and a trio of long-suffering cities desperate for a World Series champion and what do you get?

If you're Major League Baseball, a problem. But at least it's a good one to have. And their merchandise is selling so fast that Major League Baseball is having a hard time keeping up.

"We never give out numbers, but suffice it to say it is at a record pace, for sure," Howard Smith, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of licensing, said Tuesday. "We're struggling to keep up with the demand as we speak."

The urge to buy was strong in the playoff cities on Wednesday.

At Sports World, across the street from Wrigley Field, sales of Cubs memorabilia were brisk. Employees stuffed division championship T-shirts and hats into priority mail boxes to meet demand from online orders.

"Internet sales are through the roof," said Earl Shaevitz, one of the store owners. "We can't even keep up with it, selling all over the country and to Europe."

For franchises with traditionally strong sales like the Yankees and Red Sox, that isn't unusual, according to Mike May, the director of media relations for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.

But it could get bigger if one of the Cinderella teams wins the Series.

"In these other markets -- Phillies, Cubs, Rockies -- whatever's not nailed down is going to go," he said.

In a year with relatively ho-hum playoffs, MLB might see the postseason produce about 5 percent of its merchandise sales, said Smith, the league official. This year, it could be as high as 20 percent.

May said fans just get swept up in the excitement and have to be a part of it.

"When people get caught up in the excitement of a winning team, especially in the case of the Red Sox and White Sox (the 2005 World Series champs) who had not tasted victory in decades, people feel, 'If I don't buy now, I'll never get a chance to buy them as a winner, because it may be just as long before they win it again.' "