Big League Chew Has Been Hitting It Out Of Park With Their Merch Game

For over 44 years, kids across the country have experienced the joy of ripping open the bag of Big League Chew, throwing a clump of their gum strings in their mouth, and then heading out onto the baseball field. But Big League Chew has moved into the merch field. You may have noticed that it's getting popular with kids.

WKBW - ABC in Buffalo recently detailed how this Akron, New York gum company has started a rebranding, bouncing back from the pandemic times where most people were not chewing gum while wearing a mask.

"We’re rebranding Big League Chew to show a more diversified character portfolio across all the different packages,” Carl Fix, Vice President of Operations at Ford Gum told WKBW.

They were not kidding. To coincide with the start of this 2024 Major League Baseball Season, Big League Chew teamed up with New Era brand and unveiled a line of caps for each team, that fans seemed to immediately love.

"Each team is getting multiple Big League Chew hats in a range of flavors, sorry, colors, including sour apple, grape and cotton candy," Syracuse.com reported. Some of the cap variations even feature a symbol that represents a key moment in the franchise's baseball history. Others are simply more fun, offering a vibrant color pattern that the team would not normally have in their merch line.

In fact, I recently had firsthand experience of witnessing a young fan come across one of these hat styles and instantly gravitate towards it.

Upon a recent visit to New York for a youth lacrosse tournament, my 12-year-old son and I paid a quick visit to a Dick's Sporting Goods in the area. As New York fans living in Massachusetts, it's rare we enter a store that is filled with New York team gear.

We grabbed the lacrosse tape my son needed and then he paused in an aisle, fixated on the wall of NY caps. He grabbed a mesh light blue and pink Yankees cap, and loved it so much he bought it on the spot with allowance money. It simply caught his eye as we were walking to the register to pay for the tape.

I marveled at the hat as well, noting that I had never seen one like it. I was curious why there was "cotton candy" scripted on the front, but more so, what did the big LBC logo on the side stand for? Did the Yankees have a Long Beach affiliation I did not know about?

A week prior to this trip, my son and his friends all went for a summer buzz haircut. My boy had never had one before and absolutely loved it. The crew flaunted the look everywhere they went together, proud to show off the look. Except now, although the thrill has not worn off, my son's buzz in constantly covered by this Big League Chew cap. He can't take it off.

Digging in further to this merch collaboration, I've found the gum colorway look does not stop with MLB caps. They've designed sweatshirts, t-shirts, and five different cap options. The cotton candy mesh-style cap seen here appears to be exclusive to certain retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods or Urban Outfitters.

This Big League Chew merch is as engaging as the characters they have illustrated on their gum packs. You can check out their entire MLB catalog on Fanatics now.

We've officially made it to Major League Baseball's opening day. And we've got four bold predictions for the 2024 MLB season.

Last year felt like a nice setup for this season to really hit one out of the park, so to speak. 2023 saw the new MLB rules take hold. This was notable with the pitch clock and the attempt to speed up the game. The looming question of what's next for Shohei Ohtani was lingering all year. Obviously the uncommon pitcher/hitter superstar chose to stay in southern California, but headed to move over to the Dodgers.

A consistent, no-frills style of baseball led the Texas Rangers to defeat a young and scrappy Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. Both have similar rosters this year, but will either team be as good?

We are already off to a unique start with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers splitting the Seoul Series in Korea. We are certainly teed up for an exciting seven months of baseball.

Some factors came close to finding their way into my four bold predictions, but were not strong enough to grab a spot in the lineup. However, they do remain open questions for baseball fans to look out for as the season unfolds.

In New York, will the Yankees adding the fierce bat of Juan Soto to the team bounce them back from a disappointing season? Soto may have to make up for the lack of depth at pitching now the Cy Young winner, Gerrit Cole is starting the season injured.

In Atlanta, the Braves are so talented across the board, it's hard to pick against them in all of the National League. However, I do expect some epic NL East clashes throughout the year between division rivals, the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

We shall see about all of the above. In the meantime, let's hit some 2024 MLB bold predictions to get the ball rolling.

It may be a news subject that fades away, but Shohei Ohtani's name being involved in a potential gambling scandal is not a great way to kick off the season. This general topic is one that all pro sports are taking very seriously and could hang over the organization's head for much of the season. The Dodgers are certainly loaded with stars, but as the Yankees have proven in years past, a monster payroll does not guarantee wins. In fact, too many superstars in one clubhouse can be detrimental to team unity.

MLB has been faced with the challenge of making the games more exciting and engaging. There's only so much you can do to change the rules of the sport without stepping on the integrity of the game. The adjustments to speed things up certainly helped. So did the arrival of flashy alternate uniforms. Nine new teams will have a creative new jersey thrown into their mix. They will be unveiled soon. However, rocking a special edition jersey that is a nod to your home city should make this gear a top-seller in the shops. We've already seen teams like the Diamondbacks add accents of teal and fluorescents into their color schemes. This City Connect theme has been a very successful model in the NBA.

Speaking of uniforms, the Padres adding a sand tone to their away threads is an all-time classic look. The beach and baseball are synonymous. That has nothing to do with why SD will finish ahead of the bigger names like the Dodgers or San Francisco Giants. Fernando Tatis Jr is fully back, and the cornerstone to a team that is full of both speed and strength. The Padres did a great job of giving fans an inside glimpse of their spring training this year, and it certainly appeared as if the club was already having a blast. Their team unity and chemistry will carry them far.

Seattle, and the great state of Washington was so close to starting the year off with a championship parade thanks to the Huskies making the college football finals. They may end the year with one instead, and it will be well worth the wait. Julio Rodríguez is one of the most well-rounded players in the game. He's also just 23 years old. The X factor for the M's, though, will be how solid their pitching is, with the bulk of the rotation remaining healthy all year. The lineup then institutes small-ball baseball beautifully throughout the year, where the team seems to always know how to close out the close games. Ultimately, I'm taking the Mariners over the Braves in the 2024 World Series, which I can foresee being one of the most thrilling finals we've seen in a long time.