Ring bling: Dodgers show off glittering World Series rings in pregame ceremony

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings in a ceremony Friday night.

“There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings.

“What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn't have scripted it any better.”

A choir in the left field pavilion sang “We Are the Champions” to open the ceremony hosted by actor Anthony Anderson.

“Nobody was like us last year and I have a feeling that nobody will be like us this year,” said Anderson, a Dodgers fan.

Ohtani, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and Roberts received some of the loudest cheers walking a blue carpet to a circular stage between home plate and the mound.

Ohtani waved to the fans. They chanted “Freddie! Freddie!” when it was Freeman's turn.

They were greeted with hugs from owner Mark Walter, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, president and CEO Stan Kasten and general manager Brandon Gomes, who presented the coaching staff and players with blue boxes.

An injured Kershaw didn't pitch in the postseason last year, which culminated in the Dodgers' five-game victory over the rival New York Yankees in the World Series. Ohtani's Japanese countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and catcher Austin Barnes were busy warming up in the bullpen and had a clubhouse manager accept their rings.

The Dodgers unveiled their World Series championship flag in center field and a championship emblem on the right field suite level before a 5-4 win over the Tigers in Thursday’s home opener.

“This is the final piece,” Roberts said. “Just to kind of have the fans here to kind of enjoy this with us and close the book on 2024.”

Roberts had not seen the ring ahead of time.

“It’s a symbol for me,” he said, adding that he doesn’t wear rings although he wears a wedding band.

Roberts said he keeps his World Series rings from 2004 (as a player with Boston) and 2020 (as manager with the Dodgers) in a home safe.

Mookie Betts picked up his third championship ring, to go with a 2018 title in Boston and now two in LA.

“This is my favorite one so far,” he said. “Hopefully I can get some more and then we’ll be able to compare.”

The hand-crafted rings by Jostens contain 14-karat yellow gold, diamonds and genuine sapphires.

Inside the box’s lid, a video plays highlights of the World Series. Using a specialized hinge mechanism, the top of the ring opens to reveal Dodger Stadium displayed in detail and features the Commissioner’s Trophy with one diamond to mark the victory. Eight diamonds represent each of the team's World Series titles and the years 1883 and 2024 mark the franchise's 142 seasons.

The left side of the ring top interior includes a piece from the bases used in the World Series. Encircling the base are 34 sapphires honoring the Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died days before the World Series began.

In a personal touch, players' signatures are on the interior palm of the ring.

“The ring is incredible,” third baseman Max Muncy said.

Former Dodger Jack Flaherty started for the Tigers on Friday night, so he'll receive his ring Saturday.

“We can go beat him up today and give him the ring tomorrow,” Roberts joked.

Flaherty, a native of nearby Burbank, California, started Game 1 of the National League Championship Series and Game 1 of the World Series, both at Dodger Stadium where he attended games as a kid. He joined the Dodgers at last year's trade deadline and provided stability to a starting rotation rocked by injuries.

“He was the right person at the right time for our club," Roberts said. “He delivered.”

Utilityman Kiké Hernández got out of his sick bed to participate in the ceremony after missing the home opener a day earlier.

“He's feeling much better,” Roberts said.

The team gathered behind the mound waiting for everyone to cross the stage and then posed for photos, smiling and admiring the bling on their fingers. A brass band broke into “They Not Like Us.”

“I hope it fits,” Roberts said. “If it ends up on my pinkie, we'll be in trouble.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

A Los Angeles Dodgers 2024 World Series ring sits in its box after a ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Beth Harris)

A Los Angeles Dodgers 2024 World Series ring sits in its box after a ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Beth Harris)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, left, Shohei Ohtani, center, and Mookie Betts pose with their rings during a World Series Champion ring ceremony prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Will Smith show each other their rings during a World Series Champion ring ceremony prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy, left shows his ring to Shohei Ohtani during a World Series Champion ring ceremony prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, left, Shohei Ohtani, center, and Mookie Betts pose with their rings during a World Series Champion ring ceremony prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's former prime minister and major opposition figure, Anicet Georges Dologuélé, criticized the confiscation of his diplomatic passport as an abuse of power on Wednesday.

Dologuélé, who served as prime minister between 1999 and 2001, said he was not allowed to board a flight to an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa on Wednesday.

"It was at the airport that I learned I was forbidden from leaving the country after being declared stateless in my own country,” he told a news conference in capital Bangui.

He is on the board of directors for the African Union Peace Fund, a role he has held since 2018.

Dologuélé renounced his French citizenship last year in line with the country's constitution to contest President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who ran for a third term last year.

Dologuélé denounced last year’s election as “very far from the truth” and has regularly criticized Touadéra. He won 13.1% of the votes according to the country’s electoral body.

He has since used his diplomatic passport accorded to him as a former prime minister, claiming the government has refused to issue him a new passport.

Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

FILE - Presidential challenger Anicet-Georges Dologuele speaks to the media after casting his vote at the town hall polling station in the capital Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 27, 2020. (AP Photo, File)