Betts, Hernández among top jersey sales

Mookie Betts topped the list as the most popular jersey in MLB as the season begins, the league announced on Wednesday. The list is based on sales from MLBShop.com since the end of the 2020 postseason.

Hernández was the lone Red Sox player to be in the top 20 of the list, coming in at No. 9, one spot ahead of Angels star Mike Trout. The new Red Sox second baseman was surprised to see his name there.

“Not just the fact that it was in front of Mike, but the fact that I was top 10 in the big leagues,” Hernández said. “To me it was mind blowing. There are so many really, really good players in the big leagues, and the fact that only eight of them sold more jerseys than me last year, I don’t know how that happened, but I’m truly humbled and honored. It really, truly is an honor to be on that list. I mean, I don’t have much to say because that was completely unexpected.”

Odds and ends

Fenway Sports Group on Wednesday officially announced its partnership with RedBird and the additions of LeBron James, Maverick Carter and their longtime business partner Paul Wachter to its ownership group. The announcement also revealed that Red Sox president Sam Kennedy will become part of the ownership group. …

The Red Sox are asking fans attending today’s opener to be in their seats by 1:30 p.m., as Opening Day ceremonies begin at 1:40 ahead of first pitch at 2:10. The two teams will be introduced along the baselines, with Springfield native Michelle BrooksThompson performing the national anthem. Three different aircrafts will perform the traditional flyover, a first for a Red Sox Opening Day ceremony.