Nationals' rings combine glitz with key mantras of 2019

They won't get to try them on for real until some undetermined date, but the Nationals finally got a chance to see what their World Series rings look like during Sunday night's virtual presentation.

What do they look like? Like a million bucks. (Note: They're not actually worth $1 million.)

Created by Jostens, the Nats' rings include 170 round diamonds, 31 custom-cut rubies, 24 princess-cut rubies and 32 custom-cut genuine sapphires, bringing the total gem weight to 23.2 carats.

The centerpiece of the ring is the curly W logo made from rubies, surrounded by diamonds and a sapphire circle engraved with "World Champions." Another set of rubies circles the entire top of the ring.

The left side of the ring includes the player or coach's last name, the American flag and the year 2019 in yellow gold, images of four iconic D.C. monuments (the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial) in white gold and the player or coach's uniform number set in diamonds.

The right side of the ring features the team's "Fight Finished" slogan above an image of the Commissioner's Trophy and the Nationals' cursive wordmark. The outside façade of Nationals Park is included, as are five stars: four filled with diamonds to represent the club's four previous division titles, one filled with a ruby to represent its first World Series title.

Another team slogan - "Go 1-0 Every Day" - is set across the bottom of the ring. The inside of the ring, meanwhile, includes a smiling shark hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy to commemorate Gerardo Parra's "Baby Shark" walk-up song that become a ballpark phenomenon. The Nationals' record in each round of the postseason is listed alongside the logo of the opponent they defeated, and the numbers 10.30.19 are included to denote the date of Game 7 of the World Series.

The club initially planned to hand out rings during a ceremony prior to its second scheduled home game of the season (April 4 against the Mets) but had to scrap that idea when the coronavirus forced the postponement of the Major League Baseball season. As it became clear any games that may be played in 2020 are unlikely to include fans, the Nationals announced last week a plan to hold Sunday night's virtual ceremony, with some players and coaches opening rings mailed to them so fans could watch.

But after players made it clear they preferred to wait to open their rings until they are able to gather together in person again, the Nats abruptly changed plans Saturday and decided only to unveil the ring design now.

Only a handful of top team executives knew what the rings looked like until they were unveiled during Sunday night's show.

"Absolutely stunning," manager Davey Martinez said. "I didn't know what to say when I saw it."

"I couldn't be prouder to wear this ring in honor of what has happened here in Washington, D.C.," general manager Mike Rizzo said, "being a world championship-caliber city and bringing a 2019 world championship to the Nationals."

Everyone who appeared in a major league game for the Nationals in 2019 will receive a ring, a list that ranges from stars like Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto to players who spent a limited time on the roster and in some cases left the organization during the season like Matt Grace, Austin Adams, Michael Blazek and Trevor Rosenthal.

Managing principal owner Mark Lerner also said "every single member of our organization" is getting a ring.

Sunday's show included taped messages of thanks and praise from several former Nationals players (Chad Cordero, Brian Schneider, Denard Span and Adam LaRoche), other past and present D.C. athletes (Alex Smith, Brian Mitchell), the governors of both Virginia and Maryland, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser, chef and humanitarian José Andrés and even Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and admitted "die-hard, at times semi-fanatical" supporter of the team for years.