This is as awesome as it is ridiculous.
The St. Louis Cardinals got their World Series rings over the weekend, and on one side is a tribute to a very important member of the championship team, the Rally Squirrel.
The Rally Squirrel became a a symbol of the teams World Series run after he darted in front of Skip Schumaker in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies and was spotted again during game 5.
Very cool that they would include him on their World Series rings, although I somehow feel that somewhere Bob Costas is complaining that rodents have no place in the storied tradition of baseball.
The ring also includes the phrase “Happy Flight”, a chant Rafael Furcal started whenever the team won on getaway days.
As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, it pains me to say that these rings are stunning. Really simple design and really clean execution. Very worthy of a World Series Champion.
More details on the ring from STLToday.com
• 103 round diamonds.
• 50 custom-cut rubies, including 14 that have been cut to form a redbird logo for the face of the ring.
• The years of the previous 10 titles all engraved on the shaft of the ring.
• The results of all three 2011 playoff rounds are engraved on the inside of the ring, including the logos of the opponents.
• Beneath the results is the phrase “HAPPY FLIGHT.”
The squirrel and “Happy Flight,” the chant shortstop Rafael Furcal started for getaway-day wins, are meant to help capture the spirit of the 2011 Cardinals. Other details pushed the manufacturer in new directions. Instead of synthetic rubies that could be molded, Jostens mined rubies that were then hand-shaped into the redbird for the top, an “11” for one side, and on the other side the “STL,” which took 28 rubies. The gems are all “conflict-free,” Poitras said.
Somewhere, this guy is pissed that he isn’t on a ring.