If You Want $25,000 World Series Ring From Atlanta Braves, Skip Car Payment And Buy A Burger

You got $151 for a ballpark burger?

As described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this smorgasbord disguised as a sandwich comes on a toasted, Irish-buttered brioche bun, with pan-fried eggs, gold-leaf-wrapped Hudson Valley foie gras, grilled cold water lobster tail, heirloom tomato, garden-fresh Bibb lettuce, Tillamook cheddar cheese and truffle aioli.

And get this: If you purchase what is essentially a half-pound of Wagyu beef at Truist Park in Atlanta for that price, you’ll have the option to spend another $25,000 for a limited edition of the ring that members of the Braves received for winning the 2021 World Series.

Splendid.

Well, the ring is, but not the price for the burger.

With the Cincinnati Reds in town, these are the first home games for the Braves since they clinched their world championship last year against the Astros in Houston. So, the Braves have held what they’ve called “Championship Week,” and they’ve experienced The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Cold.

It’s mostly been The Good and The Cold.

• The Good: Led by players and coaches, the Braves had an opening night parade on Thursday afternoon through their $1.1 billion complex surrounding Truist Park called The Battery.
• The Ugly: The Braves’ most talented player (Ronald Acuna) ripped their recently departed Face of the Franchise (Freddie Freeman) by calling him “overbearing,” among other things, and then the former denied what he said about the latter, and then he sort of admitted it, but then he claimed it was overblown or something.
• The Bad: After the Braves lost their season opener 6-3 Thursday night before a packed house of more than 40,000, they spent Friday night watching their 7-3 blowout turn into a 7-6 squeaker of a victory after new closer Kenley Jansen allowed three runs in the ninth inning.
• The Cold: It snowed Saturday afternoon — in north Georgia, and in April, with dogwoods and azaleas blooming.

Even so, the sky was clear Saturday night by the time the highlight of Championship Week occurred.

Is that World Series ring heavy?

“Yes,” Braves pitcher Kyle Wright said emphatically after he threw well enough in the third game of the series to push his team to 2-1 for the season by beating the Reds 2-1. “Just the details (of the ring). Everything they did in it was awesome.”

Which brings us to The Grand.

Before Saturday night’s game, members of the Braves’ grounds crew wheeled a gigantic stage onto the field in front of the Truist Park pitcher’s mound. Then, as traditional Olympic music played in the background, nearly everybody associated with the Braves organization was called one by one to the podium.

They each received a ring that team officials called “one of a kind” and “truly (as) a feat of jewelry engineering and detailed storytelling, it is a stunning tribute to the Braves and their unwavering commitment to excellence this season.”

All I know is that the ring is huge.

Courtesy of Jostens, its 14-karat yellow gold is complemented by 18.71-karat white gold accents, diamonds and genuine rubies. From there, it’s easy to swoon over (1) the ring’s unique micro-LED lights that illuminate into a miniature Truist Park or (2) the 150 diamonds honoring the previous 150 years of the franchise.

As for everything else, wow.

Here’s the short list: The 11 rubies on the ring’s Truist Park representing where the Braves’ 11 World Series home runs were hit last season; the saying “We are those” that the team adopted as a 2021 rallying cry; “7.30.21,” which is the date of the trade deadline that brought several players who sparked the Braves in the second half; the pearl on the ring’s World Series trophy as a tribute to former Braves outfielder Joc Pederson and the pearl necklace he wore during games to inspire the team.

There also are ring tributes to Hank Aaron, the Baseball Hall of Famer who played 21 seasons for the Braves and served in their front office for 45 years until his death two months before last season. Since Aaron slammed a career 755 home runs, that’s how many diamonds are on the ring. He wore No. 44. So, when it comes to the ring’s emerald-cut diamonds, well, you know.

I asked Braves manager Brian Snitker after his team added to The Good with Saturday night’s victory over the Reds despite The Cold (42 degrees in the ninth inning): What’s your favorite part of the ring?

“You know, I like the ‘A.’ I remember those National League championship rings from years ago (during the 1990s), and that ‘A’ in the middle is really special,” Snitker said as a member of the Braves’ organization since the late 1970s. He has spent the last seven seasons as manager.

After Snitker thought more about the jewelry he earned for taking the “Atlanta” Braves to just their second world championship, he added, “This ring, I could go on and on. It seems like everything is something in that ring. Everything has a meaning, which I think is really cool what they did.

“I really haven’t . . . I’ll probably go home tonight, and, you know, get under a nice light and put my glasses on and really see what’s there.”

It’s a lot.