Shields receives ALCS ring from Royals' Moore
Right-hander recalls amazing run with Kansas City last October
SEATTLE -- On Tuesday, James Shields received his American League Championship Series ring from his run with the Royals, which is a keepsake like the one he received after the 2008 season with the Rays.
But don't look for Shields to wear either of them anytime soon. He's holding out for something much more significant and momentous.
"I'm probably not going to be wearing those until I get the World Series ring. I think the World Series one is the one I'm going to be wearing the most," Shields said.
For now, Shields had the chance to savor his latest ring, one adorned with plenty of diamonds to commemorate the Royals' AL pennant a year ago.
He received the ring earlier in the day from Royals general manager Dayton Moore.
"Dayton texted me a couple of weeks ago and told me he was going to be out this way and he wanted to give me my ring," Shields said. "… That was pretty nice of him to do that. It's pretty special to get a ring."
One side of the ring had Shields' name etched on it. The other was the record of 8-0, which is reference to the Royals' postseason run leading up to the World Series that they lost in seven games to the Giants.
What did he think of the ring?
"They did a great job on it. It looks pretty nice," he said. "There's a lot of diamonds. It's pretty blingy."
For as focused as Shields is on winning games for the Padres and his start Wednesday against the Mariners, getting the ring and sliding it onto his finger brought back fond memories of a year ago, when the Royals stormed through the postseason before running into the red-hot Giants.
"We had a good run last year and it was a pretty special team. It's an accomplishment. We had a long season last year," Shields said.
Shields' manager, Bud Black, got a big kick out of seeing Shields get the ring -- for a completely different reason. That's because Black has his own Royals ring, although his is from when the team won the 1985 World Series.
"It was sort of cool, because I have a Kansas City ring. So it was cool to see that after 30 years," Black said.