Two players. Five teams between them. A combined 78 plate appearances and innings pitched. And yet both are set to receive rings. That’s right — Jose Ureña and Buddy Kennedy are about to become World Series champions, no matter who wins. No confetti needed, no dogpile on the mound, just mail them the jewelry.
Baseball’s most generous tradition: everyone gets a ring
Let’s start with Jose Ureña — the pitcher equivalent of a backpack this season. Carried from city to city, team to team, locker to locker, tying an MLB record with appearances for five different clubs in a single season. He started the year with the Mets (barely), found himself briefly in Blue Jays blue (12.1 IP), logged three innings with the Dodgers, and finally landed with the Angels. Total: 55.0 innings pitched, 19 appearances, and a suitcase that probably never made it out of the airport terminal.
But here’s the kicker: despite his drive-by stints in Toronto and LA, he’ll still get a championship ring from whichever club wins it all. Why? Because he was there. He was on the roster. He threw the ball in an actual Major League game.
Buddy Kennedy’s blink-and-you-miss-it résumé
Then there’s Buddy Kennedy. Infielder journeyman. Same high school as Mike Trout — and while that’s not exactly a stat, it’s a fun fact that’ll follow him forever. Kennedy’s big league time this season was thirteen games. Two of those came in Toronto, where he went 1-for-5. Another seven came in Dodger blue, where the bat went mostly silent — 1-for-17. Yet because he stepped into the box, took those swings, and suited up, he’s ring-eligible for either club.
Five teams, one season, and a World Series souvenir
It’s one of those weird, beautiful baseball things — the idea that anyone who contributed at all to the journey, no matter how briefly, gets to share in the final reward. You don’t see that in every sport. You don’t get that level of grace. In baseball, the 25th man matters. The September call-up counts. The guy who threw three mop-up innings in June gets a piece of history.
So while Ureña and Kennedy might be home watching the Series like the rest of us, popcorn in hand, one thing’s guaranteed — someone’s sending them a ring.
