And one for the thumb.
The championship rings the San Jose Giants handed out to players and coaches from last year’s team are for the fifth California League title the team has won since being affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Nine players and three coaches received their rings prior to San Jose’s home opener against the Visalia Rawhide at Municipal Stadium.
General Manager Mark Wilson, who’s been there for all five titles, designed the rings along with administrative assistant Katherine Krassilnikoff.
“I know how much these rings mean to the players and how hard they’ve worked to win a championship, and I want to make sure there’s a ‘wow factor,’ and I think we’ve accomplished that,” said Wilson.
The top of the ring features the GIANTS logo on a field of diamonds. On one side is the player’s last name, the “SJ” logo, and the team’s 2009 record of 99-49. On the other side is the Roman numeral X signifying San Jose’s tenth championship since 1949.
The rings were made by MTM Recognition. Wilson says the manufacturer nicknamed this ring “The TV Set.”
The San Francisco Giants decide which players gets rings, and Wilson says they were very liberal this year. More than 50 players and coaches will receive rings, along with many others involved in ownership and administration of the San Jose Giants and their parent organization.
Many members of last year’s team now play for the Fresno Grizzlies or Richmond Flying Squirrels, and Wilson plans trips to deliver their rings in person. He also hopes to travel to other cities to hand-deliver rings to players who were traded or are out of baseball.
A lot of professional ballplayers play their whole careers without winning a championship, so Wilson says a title at any level is special.
“At the end of the day, they play for this. And we want to make sure we deliver a ring to them that’s representative of their achievement on the field.”
