Kyle Schwarber won't have any mixed feelings about wearing his 2016 championship ring, not after his presence changed the World Series and made him a Chicago legend. The deeper issue will be somehow matching a piece of jewelry with 214 overall diamonds, 3 karats of red rubies and 2.5 karats of genuine sapphires.

"That thing's pretty big," Schwarber said after Wednesday night's ring ceremony at Wrigley Field. "I don't think you can just wear it with street clothes."



Schwarber would have earned ring status by playing in parts of two games last April – before wrecking his left knee in a brutal outfield collision and suffering what was supposed to be a season-ending injury. By late October, Schwarber shocked the baseball world by recovering in time to face Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and the Cleveland Indians, hitting .412 with a .971 OPS in the Fall Classic.

"It was super-cool just to get that ring," Schwarber said. "For it to mean something even more now, it's awesome. A lot of that ring goes to what these guys did here. For me just to be able to be a part of it is super-special."

Schwarber became a Wrigleyville folk hero with his Babe Ruth-like swing and down-to-earth personality, showing his emotions on the field and deflecting credit to his teammates in the clubhouse. As someone who doesn't take himself too seriously, Schwarber appreciated the goat image on the inner band: "It's pretty funny. I guess the curse is gone now. It's just a good little complement to the ring."

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"It's unbelievable," Schwarber said. "It exceeded expectations. I had an idea of what it would look like. And then you get it in your hand for the first time, you put it on and you're just giddy inside: Wow, this is what it looks like and this is what you're going to have for the rest of your life."

Now Schwarber doesn't have to look at it and wonder what might have been if he didn't get hurt.

"You want to be a part of something," Schwarber said. "If you do something that special – and if you felt like you were on the sidelines and not able to contribute on the field – it might feel a little different. But luckily it doesn't."