Mystery Person Returns Padres' Championship Ring

A member of the San Diego Padres team that went to the World Series in 1998 was reunited on Tuesday with his National League Championship ring, which someone dropped off at the sheriff’s station in his hometown of Lakewood.

Chris Gomez had realized the ring was missing a couple of weeks ago, according to sheriff’s Capt. Keith Swenson.

An unidentified person dropped the ring off early Sunday morning at the Lakewood Station’s front counter and left before deputies were able to speak with him, Swenson said.

Deputies immediately began trying to determine the rightful owner and, through an Internet search, determined that Gomez -- a former Lakewood High School baseball star drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1992 -- might be their man.

Detective Theo Gekas located Gomez, who didn’t know the circumstances of the ring’s disappearance.

Gomez also indicated he had two additional rings missing, one for a 1987 Lakewood High School baseball championship and the other for a 1990 Loyola Marymount University baseball title, Swenson said.

“He is hopeful his other two rings will be returned to him, for their sentimental value,” Swenson said.

The Padres lost the 1998 World Series to the New York Yankees.

Anyone with information about the missing rings was urged to call Detective Gekas at (562) 623-3657.

City News Service; Photos courtesy L.A. County Sheriff’s Department