CHICAGO – It was a big Saturday for Tristan Peters at Rate Field, despite his White Sox squad dropping a 10-5 decision to the Mets before 30,705 fans.
On the field, Peters homered with a little help from Mets right fielder Carson Benge. More on that moment in a bit.
But the specialness of this day for the rookie center fielder actually took root during a 14-1 shellacking of the Athletics on July 10, when Peters became the seventh player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. He completed the cycle by homering and tripling during an eight-run seventh.
Peters received an impressive ring from chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, commissioned in honor of hitting for the cycle, during a clubhouse presentation prior to the second game of the series against the Mets. Despite Peters’ wife, Erin, having a hand in helping the White Sox with his ring size, he was still very much surprised.
“It meant a lot. I was surprised. I had no idea that was going to happen,” Peters said. “Very thoughtful gift, and I’m really grateful for it.”
“That was cool,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Nice gesture by Jerry, first of all. Nice moment before the game. And Tristan with a special year and a special game, nice to commemorate it. Thought it was a pro move by Jerry, and he came through with the homer in response.”
Every player to record a cycle during Reinsdorf’s 46-year ownership has received a ring in honor of the accomplishment, a list including Carlton Fisk (May 16, 1984), Chris Singleton (July 6, 1990), Jose Valentin (April 27, 2000) and José Abreu (Sept. 9, 2017). Shortly after Peters tripled on July 10, White Sox executive vice president Brooks Boyer contacted Reinsdorf with an idea to employ a refresh of the ring design.
Reinsdorf was in agreement on the change, with Boyer putting it in the hands of Toby Ramos, the White Sox senior director of design services, and Gareth Bruenlin, the White Sox vice president of marketing and advertising. Ramos nailed it on the first try, according to Boyer.
“We picked little things apart,” Boyer told MLB.com. “You want to make it tell the story of the accomplishment, and I think it worked.”
The inside of the ring features Peters’ hits on that night in order – double, single, homer and triple. On the top, it has the three bases, and then there’s a red garnet, cut to look like a home plate. The reason that’s not a diamond is it represents the fact the White Sox were wearing the red City Connect uniforms that night, per Boyer.
Between the bases on the ring, there’s 10 diamonds, which represent Peters’ total bases.
“It kind of tells the story,” Boyer said. “His name is one side: Name, number and our main White Sox logo. On the other side, it gives the date and then the seventh cycle in White Sox history.”
There was just the one hit from Peters on Saturday, but it had an interesting angle. His eighth homer, coming on the first pitch of the third from Christian Scott, was different from the other seven in that Benge appeared to make a running catch on the deep drive. But when he turned and hit the fence with the ball in his glove, the ball popped over the fence. It would have been short without Benge’s assistance.
“I didn't get the best read on it. Can't always be perfect,” Benge said. “Went back on it fast towards the wall and then kind of caught it in my glove, and then it kind of popped out when I hit that fence.
“First thing, I checked my glove and I saw it wasn't in there, so I was kind of mad at that. But then after the adrenaline wore off there quickly, I knew I was OK.”
Luis Robert Jr., a White Sox stalwart for six seasons, launched two home runs for the Mets in his second game at Rate Field playing for a visiting team. So, Robert took the main focus of the contest against the American League Central leaders, who hold a 3 1/2-game edge over the Guardians.
From the ring to the aided homer, it was still a special night for Peters.
“It was funny because I thought it was a home run off the bat,” Peters said. “Then I saw he caught it, and I was like, ‘Dang, I hit that one hard.’ Then I saw it go over the wall and I was pretty pumped.”