Former Phillie Jean Segura welcomed back with a championship ring: ‘I feel love’ for the fans

Like many of his former teammates, Jean Segura rewatched clips of the Phillies’ postseason run this offseason. He felt emotional at times. Segura waited 11 seasons before playing playoff baseball. Once he got there, he wanted to experience every moment to its fullest.

It’s why Segura skipped and jumped down the first-base line when he hit a two-run, go-ahead single in the wild-card series in St. Louis. It’s why he flung himself over the dugout railing after Rhys Hoskins spiked his bat on Oct. 14, and why he did it again after Bryce Harper hit the home run that would send the Phillies to the World Series on Oct. 23.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins focusing for now on ‘small wins’ during rehab with a big goal in mind

“I wanted to feel every moment, it didn’t matter who was hitting,” Segura said. “I was jumping over the railing. Acting like I’m the one swinging the bat. I said you know what? I’m going to celebrate it.

“I almost tweaked my ankle on one of those jumps. When Rhys hit that home run with the bat slam, I went, ‘Woo!’ And I jumped over the railing.”

Luckily for Segura, and for the Phillies, he did not tweak his ankle. Instead, the former Phillies second baseman played through the World Series, which still seems surreal to him. But it certainly felt real on Monday, when Segura got his National League championship ring from owner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

When Segura received the ring in a brief ceremony on the field before the game, he wasn’t surprised by how big it was. He had seen photos circulating on social media. What he was less sure of was how he would be received by the fans.

Segura was not the perfect player. He was a talented hitter, who had good bat-to-ball skills, but struggled at times defensively. He committed 20 errors at shortstop in his first season with the Phillies in 2019, the most in the National League.

Despite that, he came to love the accountability that came from playing in Philadelphia. By the end of the last season, he said he wanted to stay with the organization through the end of his career. Segura hit free agency, and the Phillies chose to sign shortstop Trea Turner instead. Segura signed a two-year deal with Miami in January.

» READ MORE: ‘We’ve got room to grow’: Phillies mark their NL pennant with super-sized championship ring

“I got a feeling I would not come back,” said Segura, 33. “Everybody was saying they were going to go sign a shortstop on the market. I got that type of feeling. It is what it is. It’s a business. I understand.”

His time had come to an end, but that didn’t mean the city had forgotten about him. Before the game, an usher called out his name while Segura was stretching down the third-base line.

“I miss him,” she said.

Segura finally heard her, and nodded that he would come over after batting practice. During the game, some fans, who were all clad in denim, hung a “Jean’s Jeans” sign along the fence behind the upper deck of right field.

“If I receive love or not, I feel love for them, from the bottom of my heart,” Segura said of the fans. “And [no matter how it goes] today isn’t going to eliminate all of those great moments or memories that I have in Philadelphia.”

Ranger Suárez (left elbow strain) will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. Manager Rob Thomson said he has another bullpen session scheduled after that one. Cristopher Sánchez (left triceps strain) will throw three innings on Tuesday at triple-A Lehigh Valley. Nick Nelson (left hamstring strain) threw in a simulation game on Monday.