Twins Fans Scoop Up Clearance Apparel After Correa Re-Signs With Twins

[Melissa Berman]

We all thought he was gone, and so did MLB apparel retailers. 

Right after the news broke on Tuesday that Carlos Correa was returning to the Twins on a six-year, $200 million contract, fans flocked online and to sporting goods stores in search of recently-discounted Correa apparel still sitting on the clearance racks.

Image courtesy of Melissa Berman

When Correa turned down a 13-year contract with the Twins and subsequently signed deals with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets (which both fell through), retailers slashed Correa Twins apparel prices for t-shirts, jerseys, and merchandise. But suddenly, when the news broke at 11:23 a.m. Tuesday that Correa was a Twin again, all that heavily-discounted Correa apparel became relevant again. Within minutes, Twitter was abuzz with this realization. 

I was at work when the news broke. Not to be deterred from a good deal, I commanded my brother, Matthew Berman, to run out to Eden Prairie Scheels to scour the sales racks during his lunch break and report back on his findings. 

Matthew, the only Twins fan crazy enough to get to even more games than I, hightailed it out to Scheels in search of some C4 bargains. He was in luck- Matthew found a Correa shirt emblazoned with “Land of 10,000 Rakes.” The tag displayed a list price of $22.99 with “was $31.99” right below it. He bought the last two shirts- one for me and one for him. The listed online price is back up to $31.99. 

While Matthew was there, he ran into several other fans who had also sprinted to Scheels with the same goal in mind, and he overheard a store employee say that she saw a fan leaving with four Correa jerseys earlier. Upon searching a little more, in all its Kasota Gold glory, he found the holy grail: an authentic red Correa jersey exactly in his size. The last one, too. There was no price tag on the jersey, and when Matthew asked for a price check, it rang up as $60. Jackpot. Too good to pass up, he bought it. Twins replica jerseys with the now-outdated branding are going for $135 on Scheel’s website and in-store. I got a screenshot shortly after the signing that shows a Kasota Gold navy Correa jersey going for $69.99, and now it's back to $135 like the others. Stores floors did not get the immediate memo for this price change, as evidenced by my brother's experience, 

While stuck at work, I checked online and found a Nike Women’s Navy Correa Jersey Shirt on clearance on the Dick’s Sporting Goods website for $8.97, down from $35. There was also a red youth Correa jersey shirt for $7.97, down from $30. On the MLB Shop website, I only found a white Correa “Big & Tall” replica jersey on sale for $47.99. When I went back and looked at the same jersey later in the day, it was back up to its full price of $119.99. 

After I left the office, I descended upon the Richfield Dicks Sporting Goods’ clearance racks like a vulture on Black Friday. I found a rack inside the main doors with around 30 navy Correa t-shirt jerseys on sale for $8.97, with an additional $25% off that. I bought one for myself, one for Matthew, one for a friend, and an extra one or two for good measure, all for the bargain price of $6.73 each after the discount. I saw a couple of other fans scouring the racks too, and one guy was calling his friends to get their sizes for t-shirt orders.

 

“You better grab these fast- they’re going to start pulling these from the shelves! They’re back to full price online,” one man hugging an arm full of shirts warned me. The staff at the store, busy helping other customers, gave no indication that they were about to do such a thing. The same shirt on the Dick’s Sporting Goods website is sold out, and other navy shirts of current players with the Kasota Gold branding, now-retired by the Twins, are going for full price. 

However, not everyone waited until the news broke to scoop up discounted Correa apparel: one Twins fan went viral on social media for having beaten everyone else to the punch. 

On December 14, the news broke that Correa had signed a 13-year contract with the Giants. Shayla, a Twins season ticket holder, ordered a white Correa jersey and a Correa t-shirt jersey in the new uniform branding style online from the MLB Shop on December 19. The jersey was around $45, and the t-shirt jersey was $15. Even though it seemed like Correa’s time in Minnesota was over, she bought the jerseys because she had such fond memories of the 2022 season and could not “believe we got to have him in our jersey.” And a little bit "just in case."

After the news broke Tuesday, Shayla tweeted about the Correa jersey she had bought, and Talkin Baseball, a baseball podcast by Jomboy Media, posted her tweet on its Instagram account.

As it turns out, Shayla will have a lot more use for her Correa jerseys from now on than just reliving happy former memories, and Correa will be in that Twins jersey for a long time. 

“I am so happy. Happy for us. Happy for the players. Happy that in addition to his on-the-field work, we get a great baseball mind and a wonderful leader.” Shayla said. “I had a hunch from the beginning that this wasn’t gonna be a one-year deal.”

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[TCSquad]

We weren't fast enough... sigh...

[LonelyseatinMOA]

Probably one of the few players I'd buy a jersey of, shame I missed out on the deals....

 

Maybe I'll get a knockoff 

[Melissa]

Fun story!

I bought my women’s Morneau jersey two days before the Twins traded him away. I wear it to Target Field every time I go. Probably should save up for one of those gorgeous new cream jerseys … but which player?  

[ashbury]

Where can I score a sweet discount on a Giants or Mets jersey with Correa's name on it?

[rwilfong86]

Shayla and 1000 other people bought the jerseys and shirts because they were cheap. It has nothing to do with intelligence. I picked up an Eddie Rosario jersey and t shirt for like $20 each after the 2020 season. It's pure coincidence Correa resigned after agreeing to 2 other contracts.

[Blyleven2011]

Melissa your a day late at posting , I would have taken a extra large ....

Good score on shirts and jackets , you have a loyal brother to you and the twins  ....

[theBOMisthebomb]

I'm glad people found deals. Weren't they for the outdated merchandise, though? My experience was I gave my Correa shirt to charity when it first appeared he wasn't returning to the Twins. Then, a thrifty friend gave me a Correa shirt for Christmas, which I told him I'd use it for yard work. Now, I'll wear it much more often for many years.

[Melissa Berman]

5 hours ago, Melissa said:

Fun story!

I bought my women’s Morneau jersey two days before the Twins traded him away. I wear it to Target Field every time I go. Probably should save up for one of those gorgeous new cream jerseys … but which player?  

Always love hearing from a fellow Melissa! This was a lot of fun to write :) The best part of that Morneau jersey is that he's a Twins legend, so you can wear that to games forever (just like Mauer, Killebrew, Hrbek, and all those other jerseys you see at games.) I have a Morneau one too! I should add that back into my rotation.

I definitely want to get one of the new jerseys too- either the white or cream one. They are just beautiful. I like the pinstripes on the Twins players a lot, but don't know if I myself would wear a gray jersey. 

Whenever I get jerseys, I try to get whoever is going to be around the longest LOL. Gotta get my money's worth! I Correa would sure fit the bill! And Buxton!

Edited January 12, 2023 by Melissa Berman

[Melissa Berman]

8 minutes ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

I'm glad people found deals. Weren't they for the outdated merchandise, though? My experience was I gave my Correa shirt to charity when it first appeared he wasn't returning to the Twins. Then, a thrifty friend gave me a Correa shirt for Christmas, which I told him I'd use it for yard work. Now, I'll wear it much more often for many years.

Most of the deals people scooped are for the former branding, but look at this tweet- they were selling discounted Correa shirts in the new color scheme/ uniform style too! Wish I had scooped one of those.

You will be able to wear that Correa shirt for a long time! What a great gift- and saved from yard duty! :)

 

[Melissa Berman]

7 hours ago, TCSquad said:

We weren't fast enough... sigh...

Now entertaining offers on the extra Correa shirts I scooped! ? LOL

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Melissa Berman said:

Now entertaining offers on the extra Correa shirts I scooped! ? LOL

Entertaining offers? How about $10, plus Brian Duensing as a sweetener?

[harve143]

20 hours ago, Melissa Berman said:

Most of the deals people scooped are for the former branding, but look at this tweet- they were selling discounted Correa shirts in the new color scheme/ uniform style too! Wish I had scooped one of those.

You will be able to wear that Correa shirt for a long time! What a great gift- and saved from yard duty! :)

 

I saw it on clearance last week and decided even with the minute chance of him playing for us, getting one of the new shirts was worth the $15. It came today and I’m wearing it right now.