Longtime Dodgers batting practice pitcher Mike McDermott, who was with the team during their 1981 and 1988 World Series winning seasons, recently had his championship rings stolen.

For 30 years, McDermott worked with the legends of Dodger baseball. Though he wasn’t a member of their official roster, he was a crucial piece of their day-to-day success that led to two titles, and wound him up with the stunning rings he had taken last Monday.

“Even people at a store would notice, ‘Hey, are those championship rings?'” McDermott said, noting that he wore them every day, everywhere he went. “I loved it, because that’s half the fun of having the rings is to share them with people.”

When he was approached last week by a man and woman who asked him for direction outside of a Ralph’s store in Arcadia, he thought it was another such instance and was happy to help given his trusting nature.

After helping them find the location they were seeking, McDermott said the couple wanted to thank him by blessing him.

“He pulled out a black, like, a little bag and he said, ‘This is from Jerusalem. Our family is very religious, this was actually blessed in Jerusalem … so, you’re wearing those rings we wanna bless you, and if you put them in the bag … we’ll bless them for you,'” he recounted.

Little did he know that was the moment the interaction took a turn for the worse.

“As he’s doing it, she reaches from the back and her bracelet is loose. He says to me, ‘Would you mind tightening it up for her.’ So I reach over and I do it,” McDermott said. “He blesses me again and he hands me back the bag, it’s heavy and jingling. Puts in my hand, bless you and they pull off.”

In those few seconds, McDermott’s beloved rings were gone, replaced by costume jewelry.

Not long after hearing McDermott’s story, KCAL News reporter Laurie Perez made the connection to a similar story that was covered by fellow reporter Michele Gile earlier in the week.

That story, which focused on the arrest of two Romanian nationals for their part in what police call a “jewelry switch scam,” involved almost the exact same set of circumstances. The couple, identified as Dinu Adelina, 29, and Miclescu Cosmin, 34, were arrested in Irvine on Tuesday just hours after McDermott’s rings were stolen for a different theft.

In that instance, police say the suspect told a man they wanted to honor him and made a similar switch that resulted in his $2,000 necklace being taken.

“Female walked up, put a piece of jewelry on the man’s neck, while she was doing that she was actually taking his gold necklace at the same time,” said an Irvine Police Department spokesperson. “So, as they’re leaving he realizes that he’s not got costume jewelry on and tries to stop them.”

When McDermott was shown a picture of the duo, he said it was exactly who targeted him the day prior.

“99.9% that’s them that stole my rings,” he said.

Now, he’s got renewed hope that he could get his prized rings back.

Arcadia Police Department detectives, who have launched a grand theft investigation in search of McDermott’s rings, plan to reach out to Irvine police.