World Series Rings Shouldn't Determine a Player's Value

When determining values of a baseball player, many times World Series rings join the discussion. If the payer has received a ring, then that apparently makes him a better player that deserves more respect than somebody that doesn't. However, this is a misconception.

World Series rings serve absolutely no purpose but a nice thing to put in a trophy case as a reminder of a good team a player was on, not that the individual actually earned the ring. World Series rings have absolutely nothing to do with a player value. A terrible player can still receive a World Series ring if he happens to be signed by a team that goes all the way one year, then retire with a ring. Do people give him value? No, and they shouldn't.

A fantastic example of this is the St. Louis Cardinals John Nelson in 2006. The Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 thus, everyone that played for them that year received a World Series ring, even John Nelson, who appeared in only eight games, with no hits, and then never appeared in another major league game again. Does this make him any better than somebody who didn't get lucky enough to be on a good team?

So if fans and analysts don't give value to the players who don't play well for years and win a ring, then why should they give it to all-time greats? I can understand playoff stats because that shows who is clutch and who can come through when they're team needs it. However, World Series rings are of no importance.

That would almost be the same as determining a player's value by his team's record or past performances. A team's achievements is a fantastic thing for that franchise and it's fun to be part of that historic season when the team you play for achieves baseball greatness and wins the World Series, but just because you're on that team doesn't make you any better of a player.

Take Joe Morgan for example. I personally believe that Morgan is an overrated player. When people support Morgan and his achievements, they boast of his two World Series rings won with the Cincinnati Reds in the '70's. Morgan hit .271 with 1,133 RBI's and 268 homers. Joe Morgan is a great player but doesn't deserve his hype. Compare him with superstar Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey. hit an amazing 630 home runs with a .284 career batting average and 1,836 RBI's. He's easily better than Joe Morgan, and Griffey never won a World Series Rings and yet sometimes Morgan is considered better than Griffey because of his rings, which is totally unfair.

Baseball is a team sport. Team achievements are great and a huge part of the game, but shouldn't determine the value of a player. Maybe I'm overreacting about this and people don't actually puff up World Series Rings like this, but in my experiences, World Series rings are overrated. Don't get me wrong, I would love just to lay eyes on a ring, not to mention win one or be on part of a team that won it, but it shouldn't be a tool to judge an individual's value.