It was an odd sight at the end of the Dodgers-San Francisco Giants game Thursday night, pitcher Brian Wilson walking across the field to confront Giants CEO Larry Baer.
Had Wilson been heckled by fans in right field? Was he complaining about a lack of security in the Dodgers bullpen?
Nope. It turns out Wilson was upset that he hadn't gotten his 2012 World Series ring.
According to CSNBayArea.com, Wilson's animated conversation with Baer – caught on TV by Prime Ticket -- was all about the Giants' failure to deliver the ring to Wilson, who pitched in just two games that season before reinjuring his right elbow and having to undergo Tommy John surgery.
All players who spend any time on a team's roster traditionally receive a ring if their team wins the World Series, so Wilson certainly qualified. But with just a few games left in the season and the Dodgers' season series with the Giants over, he still didn't have his ring.
"It's disappointing. It's unfortunate. It's bizarre, really," Giants vice president Staci Slaughter said of the postgame incident. But she added that Wilson had declined an invitation to attend a special ring ceremony in April when players were given their rings, and she said several members of the organization – including Baer, manager Bruce Bochy and vice president Bobby Evans – had tried to set up meetings with Wilson to give him the ring. None of their calls was returned.
On Thursday, the Giants finally gave the ring to a representative from the Dodgers and asked that it be passed along to Wilson.
"Every other player, we managed to deliver the ring in a respectful way," Slaughter said.
Wilson had some grand seasons in San Francisco. He was on the mound in 2010 when the Giants won their first World Series since 1954, but his tenure with the club ended abruptly when it refused to offer him a contract after his surgery.
He was greeted by a mix of boos and cheers when he entered the game Tuesday night, but after this episode, it's a good bet Giants fans won't be too friendly to The Beard on future appearances.
