SAUGUS, Mass. — Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is happy to have his world series rings back after they were stolen from his home in Arizona.
What you might not know is that a local sports memorabilia dealer helped get those rings back.
Phil Castinetti is pretty well-known within the sports memorabilia industry. Last month, the owner of Sportsworld in Saugus got a call from another dealer way out in Arizona.
"Talking about that he had Terry Francona’s two championship World Series rings," Castinetti explained of the phone call.
He thought they had to be fakes. Why would Terry Francona try to sell his World Series rings?
"I said, you know what, let me call Terry and find out if they really are his rings," Castinetti said.
The rings were real alright. Castinetti just happened to have Francona’s phone number and learned the rings were taken right out of Francona’s home.
"He said, 'Phil I just noticed that my rings were missing a few days earlier,'" Castinetti said. "I told him the story and said, 'but Terry, they’re out in Phoenix.' And he said, 'but I live in Phoenix.’”
Arizona police say the arrested and charged Jeremy Estep with burglary and theft. It’s unclear if Francona knows Estep or how the suspect was able to get into Francona’s home. But investigators also accused Estep of fraudulently cashing one of Francona’s checks earlier this year.
Castinetti says from time to time he comes across real championship rings. He’s got two for sale, but these two happen to be replicas. They retail for $35 each. He estimates one of Francona’s rings could have gotten up to $150,000.
Francona, through the Cleveland Indians, sent Boston 25 News a statement: “I am incredibly grateful to the effort that the Pima County Sherriff’s Department has put forth in this. Beyond that, I can’t comment because it's an open investigation."
The rings are back in Francona’s possession and Castinetti said the old Sox manager is very happy.
“He was just so happy that it happened so fast, I mean usually, if something gets stolen like that, you never see them again,” Castinetti said.