The San Francisco Giants received their giant-sized, diamond-encrusted championship rings on Saturday night at a festive pre-game ceremony commemorating their 2014 World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals. It was the team's third championship in five years.
The celebration offered tradition with a twist — with four skydivers parachuting into AT&T Park to deliver the first rings to executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.
Giants announcer Duane Kuiper, an emcee for the ceremony, spoke about the significance of the championship rings. "Baseball has many, many traditions. Many are good. Some are great. But this ring ceremony may be the very best of them all. It's the one thing every professional athlete wants — a championship ring. Something they can hold on to, and something they can show off,” he said.
The striking rings were designed and created by Tiffany & Co. to honor the 2014 World Series winners, the 2012 and 2010 championship teams, and the five titles won by the franchise while in New York.
The Giants issued a statement detailing the rings' components. “The face of the 14k white gold championship ring features the San Francisco 'SF’ logo set in 18k yellow gold with 55 round melee diamonds. A bezel reading 'World Champions’ is highlighted along both sides of the ring. The top bezel is set with three round diamonds and the bottom bezel is set with five round diamonds, representing the three championships in the last five years and the eight total franchise world championships. One side of the ring features the player’s name and number with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The other side celebrates the franchise’s three recent World Series trophies.”
"We are thrilled to celebrate with the City of San Francisco and the Giants on another championship season," said Victoria Reynolds, group director of business sales for Tiffany & Co. “We are honored to have created the last three championship rings, which pay tribute to the Giants' dedication and performance on and off the field."
Second baseman Joe Panik proudly shared a photo in which he and his fiancée, Brittany Pinto, posed with his 2014 World Series bling. He captioned the photo, "What a special day! So proud to be a Giant!"
"It was a big day today with the guys getting their rings," noted Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “They all loved them, too. They're beautiful rings, it's just a great night. It was good to see these guys smiling, and it reminded them that they are the World Champions."
The team announced that a personalized World Series ring would be raffled off to benefit the Giants Community Fund. Raffle tickets and information are available online at sfgiants.com/ringraffle. Tickets are available until June 21. The winner will be announced on June 23.
Credit: Tiffany; Instagram/Joe Panik
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