PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres spent Thursday morning doling out some serious hardware.
With the entire organization gathered behind the Peoria Sports Complex, the 2016 El Paso Chihuahuas received their Pacific Coast League championship rings one-by-one before the morning workout.
"This is hopefully the first step to getting the big one in the big leagues," said catcher Austin Hedges, who batted .326 with 21 home runs for the Chihuahuas. "A lot of these guys that we had in El Paso last year are going to be a big part of what we have this year and going forward. Hopefully, this is a stepping stone to getting a World Series."
Among the players who received a ring were Hedges, Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, Ryan Schimpf, Alex Dickerson, Jabari Blash and Carlos Asuaje.
Given the Padres' recent youth movement, those players are all expected to contribute at the Major League level this season. A couple of them -- namely Schimpf and Dickerson -- did so in a big way last year, after spending most of the first half with El Paso.
This season, Hedges, Margot and Renfroe are expected to graduate and play an important role with the big league club. In the eyes of manager Andy Green, their experience winning a title -- albeit at a Minor League level -- will have a positive impact on the organization.
"It matters a great deal," said Green. "You create a culture of winning through the Minor League system. If that's the expectation there, then it becomes an easier expectation to push when they show up at the Major League level."
The Chihuahuas cruised to the PCL's Pacific Southern Division crown last season, before defeating Tacoma and Oklahoma City in the playoffs to capture the title. They won each of those best-of-five series in four games.
It was an impressive run for El Paso, which never faltered despite losing some of its best players to the Padres in the middle of the season. Hedges noted that the title was a credit to the resiliency of the players.
"For the most part, guys in Triple-A don't really want to be there; they want to be in the big leagues," Hedges said. "So it says a lot about the guys that we had -- grinding out each day, finding ways to still get better. The camaraderie, the chemistry, the culture that we had there is something that we'll have this year and for years going forward."