Recently Retired Dodgers Pitcher Has Mixed Feelings About 2020 World Series Ring

Even though he got a ring after the Dodgers' 2020 championship, Ross Stripling wasn't in the clubhouse or on the field to celebrate after the final out of the World Series. Stripling had a good excuse: He was employed by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stripling, who announced his retirement in May, was nonetheless among those manager Dave Roberts thanked on a live microphone in the wake of the Dodgers' Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Dave Roberts just thanked Ross Stripling and Rick Honeycutt before handing off the microphone.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) October 28, 2020

Stripling said in a new interview with the Effectively Wild podcast that he has thanked Roberts for the unexpected name-drop. And he's certainly appreciative of the ring — a piece of jewelry he earned by pitching seven games for the 2020 club before he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the COVID-shortened season.

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Five years later, Stripling conceded he has mixed feelings about the ring.

"I do think I was part of a core that helped get the Dodgers to that point," Stripling said. "Obviously, these are much bigger names than me, but I was technically a part of that core of the (Corey) Seager, (Cody) Bellinger, Joc (Pederson), (Julio) Urias, Will Smith, homegrown talent that ended up getting those great Dodger teams over the hump, and into and winning a World Series after losing '17 and '18."

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"On the other hand, like I've signed some balls in my career ... and sometimes I write '2020 World Series champion.' Most of the time I don't, you know, so it is like a complicated feeling of knowing that really I wasn't a part of it. I didn't get to celebrate. ... I wasn't in the locker room after that popping champagne with my teammates and their families. It feels earned in a lot of ways. It's also not something I'm quick to show off because I'm kind of an asterisk next to it, in a way."

Stripling, 35, went 23-25 in 143 games (59 starts) for the Dodgers from 2016-20. He served a valuable role as a swingman in the regular season, and was a lights-out reliever in the postseason.

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Stripling did not allow a run in nine of 11 playoff appearances with the Dodgers from 2016-19, including two scoreless innings in the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros.

The Dodgers traded Stripling to the Blue Jays for minor leaguers Kendall Williams and Ryan Noda, neither of whom appeared in a major league game with the Dodgers.

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