No element, or diamond, was spared.
Fashionable-day championship rings, Dodgers chief advertising officer Lon Rosen joked, have basically “turned into wearable sculpture pieces.” And after a month of intricate design planning this offseason, the Dodgers’ 2024 World Sequence ring is not any exception.
Offered to gamers and coaches on the sector earlier than Friday night time’s sport in opposition to the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium, the newest championship ring in Dodgers historical past is definitely probably the most grandiose but.
Wanting down on the high of the hulking piece of knickknack, the workforce’s LA emblem is spelled out in blue gems, with a mattress of oval-shaped diamonds serving as a backdrop. Across the edge lies a circle of 34 blue stones honoring late Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died within the midst of final yr’s World Sequence run. On both aspect, eight extra diamonds had been included to acknowledge the group’s eight all-time championships. On the highest and backside, “World Champions” is spelled out in additional bling.
Down the aspect of the ring, there are customized touches, with every workforce member’s final identify and quantity displayed round a hexagon form impressed by Dodger Stadium’s distinctive scoreboards.
And contained in the ring itself, extra easter eggs abound — most notably, cut-up items of the bases from the workforce’s title-clinching Sport 5 win at Yankee Stadium final fall.
Profile view of the Dodgers World Sequence championship ring, with Freddie Freeman’s final identify and quantity.
(Courtesy of Jostens)
“We had input from our ownership, from Stan [Kasten, team president], from me,” Rosen stated. “Looked at it, worked with designers, and our owner made the final decision, which we all actually agreed on.”
“It’s very cool,” Rosen added shortly earlier than the beginning of Friday’s pregame ceremony. “The guys are gonna be really excited.”
Even earlier than the rings had been offered, anticipation was excessive within the Dodgers’ pregame clubhouse.
“This is the final piece [of our 2024 title celebration],” supervisor Dave Roberts stated. “Just to have the fans here to enjoy this with us, the players, to kind of close the book on 2024, and still staying focused on the baseball game tonight, there’s just a lot of excitement. Probably more than I can ever recall, with the Dodger fanbase. Our players feel that.”
In a becoming twist, the rings had been offered on the identical night time a key piece of the Dodgers’ 2024 workforce, L.A. native Jack Flaherty, pitched in opposition to the membership as a member of the Tigers — who re-signed Flaherty this offseason after buying and selling him to the Dodgers eventually yr’s deadline.
“He was somewhat of a savior, to be honest with you,” Roberts stated of Flaherty, who will get his ring on Saturday. “He was the right person at the right time for our club. And I’m happy that he got family and friends who got to see him in a Dodger uniform, get a championship ring.”
“Now,” Roberts added with amusing, “we can go beat him up today, and give him his ring tomorrow.”
Like most of his gamers, Roberts isn’t one to put on World Sequence {hardware} usually. The rings from his earlier two championships — as Dodgers supervisor in 2020, and as a participant with the Boston Purple Sox in 2004 — reside inside a protected in his storage.
However, the supervisor conceded, he was excited to get to strive on this yr’s piece throughout Friday’s pregame ceremony.
Face view of the Dodgers World Sequence championship ring.
(Courtesy of Jostens)
“I hope it fits,” he joked. “If you see me fiddling with it, and it ends up on my pinky, we’ll have big problems.”
Then once more, championship rings now are much less for carrying anyway. As Rosen famous, they’ve remodeled extra into items of artwork. And after the franchise’s first full-season title in additional than three many years, the Dodgers didn’t waste an inch of this yr’s diamond-studded design infusing as a lot symbolism as they might from their triumphant 2024 season.
Kiké Hernández on the mend
Friday’s ring ceremony was additionally a special day for Kiké Hernández.
Although the veteran utilityman performed a key position within the Dodgers’ 2020 title, he missed out on all the workforce’s season-opening ceremonies the following yr after signing with the Boston Purple Sox that winter.
Then, on Thursday, Hernández was absent once more throughout the membership’s 2024 World Sequence banner elevating, unable to make it to the ballpark for the Dodgers’ house opener whereas battling a abdomen sickness.
On Friday, nonetheless, Hernández was feeling robust sufficient to return to the ballpark. He didn’t characteristic within the beginning lineup, and it stays unclear when he can be again on the sector. However Roberts stated Hernández was “feeling much better” and appeared hopeful his sickness would trigger solely a short-term absence.
“He is not going to be here at the ballpark early on, doing work, just make sure that he kind of stays strong and builds up,” Roberts stated.
“But,” he added of Hernández’s attendance for the ring presentation, “he wasn’t going to miss this one.”
Pitching damage updates
Hours earlier than Friday’s sport, injured pitchers Tony Gonsolin (again) and Evan Phillips (shoulder) each confronted hitters in stay batting follow. Reliever Michael Kopech (shoulder) threw a flat-ground session within the outfield. And Clayton Kershaw (who’s recovering from offseason toe and knee surgical procedures) advised reporters he would face hitters for the primary time this yr on Saturday.
Gonsolin, who tweaked his again whereas doing squats within the gymnasium close to the top of spring coaching, and Phillips, who had a PRP injection this offseason to deal with {a partially} torn rotator cuff he suffered throughout the playoffs final yr, are the closest of the group to returning to the energetic roster.
Phillips will possible throw one other stay BP earlier than starting a rehab task, maintaining him on observe to rejoin the workforce within the subsequent couple weeks. Gonsolin’s subsequent step can be to throw three innings in both one other simulated setting, or as the beginning of a minor-league rehab task, as he works towards a long-awaited return from his 2023 Tommy John surgical procedure.
“To have something like that, non-baseball-related, really sucked, honestly,” stated Gonsolin, whose final look within the majors got here in August 2023. “I don’t really have any other words for it. But again, it’s a minor setback, and I’ll try to take this time to build back up and get into an even better position.”
The timeline for Kopech’s and Kershaw’s returns are much less clear, however Kershaw stated he stays hopeful of being prepared proper across the time his 60-day injured listing stint is up close to the top of Might.
