Cubs: Ben Zobrist World Series ring drama resurfaces in lawsuit

Last year, 2016 World Series MVP was back in the news when he ‘suspiciously’ dropped a $6 million lawsuit against his former family pastor, with whom his ex-wife Julianna engaged in an extramarital affair. Now, his name is back in headlines after the makers of the Cubs World Series championship rings, Jostens, filed a lawsuit against an auction house over a Zobrist replica ring valued at $75,000.

The company is seeking monetary damages in the suit – and you can get a full breakdown of the filing and some of the background here, via the Chicago Tribune (subscription required).

If you’re not a subscriber, though, here’s the SparkNotes version. Last summer, Heritage Auctions turned a ton of heads when it claimed that Zobrist’s ring would be hitting the market – which would have made it the first player ring from that historic 2016 team to be sold.

As we all know, it’s not like Zobrist played one game for the Cubs that year. Maybe then, it would have more financial value than emotional or sentimental, which would make him selling it at least feasible. But he is an Illinois native who played an absolutely critical role for Chicago – and brought home MVP honors in the Fall Classic. Shortly after Heritage made the announcement, his representation disputed it in a public statement.

“He’s not selling it,” his agent said last summer. “I had a conversation with him twice — one late (Friday) night and one early in the afternoon … I said, ‘Are you sure you’re not selling it?’ He said ‘No, it makes no sense. Why would I sell this ring? It makes no sense. I’m never going to get rid of this ring — never, never, ever.’”

Which brings us back to the question at-hand. If Zobrist still has his ring, what is it that Heritage was preparing to put on the block? Apparently, it’s a replica ring – one that Jostens claims was stolen, among others, back in 2018 as part of a sample ring set shown to another pro organization (whether or not it was an MLB club has not been specified).

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Here’s to hoping they get this taken care of quickly. Seriously, between the divorce and this incredibly strange ring situation, Zobrist has received a ton of attention since hanging up his spikes – and not enough of it is for what he accomplished on the baseball diamond during his 14-year career.