San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Rings a fitting tribute to season for the ages
ARLINGTON — Flags may, figuratively, fly forever. Diamonds, however, they are as permanent as anything ever gets.
The Texas Rangers' first World Series Championship players rings are loaded with diamond — more than 200 stones and diamond points. And stories. You wait 52 years to celebrate a title, you are going to go all out on both the bling and the narrative.
The rings, which were to be presented on field prior to Saturday night's game against the Chicago Cubs, include more than 450 diamonds, sapphires, and rubies. The rings feature a removable top, inside which is homage the Rangers' MLB-record 11straight postseason road wins, and a fleck of a World Series baseball, too.
The Rangers got their first looks at the rings Friday night at private “reveal” party for players and front office staff.
The rings were designed by Jason of Beverly Hills. Fittingly, it's the company's first World Series ring, too.
Jason has designed NBA, NHL, and Super Bowl championship rings, but this endeavor into a World Series ring was a first, which, Rangers officials said made the design company a perfect match for them.
“There was a lot of pressure when designing this ring, not just because it was a first for the Rangers, but because it is also our very first World Series Ring,” company CEO Jason Arasheben said in a press release. “We're honored the Rangers partnered with us for this moment and I'm proud of my team for hitting it out of the park with the design and setting a new standard for what rings should be for a World Series champion.”
The details are wild. Inside the reversibletopped ring are all the logos from the teams the Rangers beat in the postseason. In fact, those logos are arranged to spell out R-O-A-D (Rays, Orioles, Astros, Diamondbacks) to account for all 11 road wins. There is a tribute to the club's postseason motto: “Went and
Took It.” And there is an alternate top to the ring for when players would like red to be the more prominent color. About the only thing missing: A built in music box to play Creed's “Higher.”
Now for the rest of the details and symbolism about the jewels in roundfaced ring with the Texas “T” in diamonds set against a field of sapphires and outlined in rubies:
103: Blue sapphires on the top of the ring, which make up the background for the logo, signify the total number of wins for the Rangers in 2023. They won 90 in the regular season and another 13 in the postseason.
23: Red rubies that outline the “T” logo signify 2023, the first year the Rangers won the World Series.
11: Diamonds inside the logo on the main facing of the ring honor the 11 consecutive road postseason wins. When the top of the ring is opened, the slogan “Road Dominance,” appears against an outline of the U.S. It features all the stops the Rangers made from the last week of the regular season (Anaheim and Seattle) through the playoffs.
52: On the face, “CHAMPIONS” is spelled out using 52 diamond points to signify the team's first title in 52 yeas since coming to Texas.
49: The Rangers may no longer wear their red alternate tops, but the ring features one, with 49 points of rubies to form the “T” logo. They represent the 49 players who appeared on the roster. The logo on the ring is reversible and can be changed with a swivel
90: Diamonds circling the ring commemorate the 90 regular-season wins the Rangers accumulated in 2023.
1: Inside an etching of the Commissioner's Trophy, which goes to the World Series winner, is a single diamond, also a nod to the team's first win. The stone is 3 mm in size, to call out the three total trips to the World Series.
72: Points of diamonds on the border of the bezel represent the Rangers' first year in Arlington, 1972.
30: Diamonds on the inner bezel represent the 30 homers the Rangers hit during the postseason, while 16 emerald cut diamonds recognize the consecutive number of postseason games in which the Rangers homered.
3: Diamonds on the side with the player's name, which represent GM Chris Young's three pillars of baseball: “Compete with passion, be a good teammate, dominate the fundamentals.”
Inside the shank of the ring is an engraving of the player's signature, the postseason series records and the phrase “As one,” which became something of a team motto.
There are other versions of the ring that will be presented to employees.
There is also a fan program for rings, including 103 Limited Edition Rangers' Championship Ring, of which only 103 are available. Those rings, according to the Rangers, will include many of the elements of the players' version of the ring. There will be a wider collection of rings, bracelets, pendants and cuifflinks.
There will also be five replica player ring giveaways on May 14 (Corey Seager ring), June 4 (Marcus Semien), July 23 (Adolis García), Aug. 15 (Nathan Eovaldi) and September 22 (Mystery from one of the previous four). All ring giveaways will be limited to the first 15,000 fans.