A day after hoisting their World Series flag, the Los Angeles Dodgers had some World Series rings to give out. Then a game to win in absurd fashion.
The 2024 World Series champs distributed their newest jewelry in a pregame ceremony Friday, celebrating their eighth title with a ring featuring their iconic hexagonal scoreboards, palm trees, the scores of their three series wins and a golden World Series trophy, and Dodger Stadium inside a hinged opening.
Designed by Jostens, the ring’s more personal touches include 34 blue stones in honor of Fernando Valenzuela’s jersey number, the Dodgers legend who died shortly before the Fall Classic, and an actual piece from a World Series base.
And then there were the five diamonds at the bottom of the ring, in honor of the 5-0 deficit the Dodgers erased in Game 5 to clinch the World Series. Given how they gave up those runs, New York Yankees fans should probably look away.
Screencap of the Dodgers’ World Series ring video. (X)
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Considering how much trash the Dodgers have talked about the Yankees’ mistake-riddle meltdown in that Game 5, we probably shouldn’t be surprised they decided to immortalize it in their hardware.
The ring ceremony was set up in a way only Hollywood’s favorite team could pull off. Emmy-nominated actor Anthony Anderson hosted the proceedings and announced each player, but the really nice touch was the voice that followed him.
Movie buffs might recognize the voice of Randy Thomas, who provides the bios for every winner at the Academy Awards, listing off each player’s accomplishments as they walked the blue carpet. Given the name of the Dodgers’ starting catcher, it was probably earlier than she ever expected to be saying Will Smith’s name.
Thomas’ presence gave Dodger Stadium an Oscars feel as the players shook hands with Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter, team president Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
The Dodgers entered Friday with a 3-0 record after sweeping the Japan Series against the Chicago Cubs and taking their home opener against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. One member of the 2024 team who didn’t receive his ring was Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, who was preparing to make his Tigers debut against his old team.
He will reportedly receive his ring Saturday.
Flaherty made an impressive showing in front of his old home crowd, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but that was just the first chapter of a thriller. World Series MVP Freddie Freeman tied the game in the sixth with a two-run homer, then Mookie Betts, still operating underweight after fighting a stomach illness for two weeks, gave the Dodgers the lead in the eighth inning with a solo homer.
Tanner Scott, one of the Dodgers’ biggest offseason acquisitions, blew the save in the ninth and the game appeared lost when the Tigers scored two in the top of the 10th, but the Dodgers displayed the kind of clutch hitting that won them the title last year in the bottom of the frame.
Hits from Michael Conforto and Smith tied the game with only one out, then Betts stepped up again with his second homer of the night.
Again, that was a man unable to eat solid foods without vomiting until about three days ago.
The win pushed the Dodgers’ record to 4-0, and this year’s team is looking no worse than last year’s.
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