Prior to their Tuesday game against the Baltimore Orioles, the Houston Astros took care of one final piece of business left over from their World Series win last fall over the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's right -- they handed out their championship rings.
Here's a look at the bling itself:
56 years in the making.
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 3, 2018
Introducing the #Astros World Champions ring! pic.twitter.com/lI4cO87AG8
Fittingly, the first Astros player to be given hardware was second baseman and face of the franchise Jose Altuve. Altuve, of course, won the American League MVP Award last fall.
Jose Altuve accepting his World Series Championship ring. What a moment #Astros pic.twitter.com/k5zFm9wI2y
— Daniel Gotera (@DTGoteraKHOU) April 3, 2018
In all, the Astros handed out more than 1,100 World Series rings. Included in that figure? Members of the stadium staff and some franchise legends, like Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, who didn't win one in their careers.
Owner Jim Crane is making sure everyone connected to the #Astros organization gets a World Series ring. He says the number of rings being handed out now is around 1100. Astros ownership is taking care of a lot of folks.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) April 3, 2018
The Astros had Carlos Beltran, a member of last year's championship squad who has since retired, throw out the first pitch. Beltran was credited for helping in the clubhouse.