When former closer Lee Smith retired from baseball in 1997, he was the all-time saves leader with 478. Only Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera finished with more career saves than the big righty from Louisiana. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1975 MLB Amateur Draft, Smith made his debut with the “Northsiders” on September 1, 1980. His 18-year career saw him pitch for the Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos. The Hall of Fame closer was a longtime coach in the San Francisco Giants farm system, where he had served as a roving pitching instructor. Smith was on the coaching staff of the San Jose Giants, the San Francisco Giants High Single-A affiliate of the California League, when they won the league title in 2009. This offered San Jose Giants 2009 California League championship ring was presented to Lee Smith. This 10K gold ring features “GIANTS” in black and gold raised lettering with an array of cz stones surrounding it. The left shank has “SMITH”, the interlocking “SJ” logo and “99*49” in raised relief. The opposite shank has “2009”, the Roman numeral “X” for the team’s 10th title which includes 8 small cz stones and a larger cz stone in the center. The California League logo is on the bottom. The inside band has engraved “ntm”. This ring is a size 15, weighs approximately 47.28 grams, in good overall condition and comes with a 5 x 6 x 3-inch black hinged presentation box that has “San Jose Giants California League Champions 2009” printed in gold on the top in white on an image of the team celebration. The inside opens up to a white background that has “LEE SMITH” in black print with the logos of the San Jose Giants, the California League and the San Francisco Giants, along with a “10TH CHAMPIONSHIP” banner image and the years the franchise won titles. This comes with a LOA from Lee Smith.

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