Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini missed the entire 2020 season after being diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2020. He has since returned to baseball and joined the team for spring training. The crowd in attendance responded by giving Mancini a standing ovation.
The 28-year-old stepped up to the plate and faced a pitcher for the first time since September 2019. He connected on a pitch and knocked a single to center field. Mancini raced to first base as the crowd continued to applaud. Pittsburgh Pirates player Erik Gonzalez joined in as he walked over and patted Mancini on the back.
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Trey Mancini spent 2020 recovering from colon cancer.
In his first at-bat of spring training, he got a standing ovation and a hit 🧡
(via @Orioles)pic.twitter.com/5AA4rav2EK
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 28, 2021
“W, long time coming,” one Twitter user commented. Several others expressed a similar sentiment after seeing the heartwarming moment. They continued to express excitement about Mancini returning to the field and finding success during his first at-bat opportunity.
Mancini revealed in November 2020 that he was cancer-free and that he had been cleared to resume all baseball activities. He dropped the news during a Zoom call with reporters. Orioles beat writer Joe Trezza then relayed the exciting news to the public.
“Speaking on a Zoom just now, Trey Mancini said his most recent bloodwork showed no tumor DNA. He’s working out five days per week and hitting lightly. He plans to be ready for Spring Training and continue his advocacy work through the Colorectal Cancer Alliance,” Trezza tweeted.
Mancini further explained that he felt great and that he felt like himself after chemotherapy and undergoing surgery to remove a tumor. “There is no reason for me to believe if Spring Training started tomorrow, I wouldn’t be ready to go. Because I would,” he added. Mancini explained his decision to head to spring training amid COVID-19 by using fellow cancer survivors Carlos Carrasco and Anthony Rizzo as examples. Both men played during the 2020 season.
Mancini is currently under contract with Baltimore through the 2022 season after signing a one-year, $4.75 million extension. He will earn $4.75 million in 2021 and then will become a free agent in 2023. Having him return to the lineup will greatly benefit the team considering that he hit 35 home runs in 2019 and set a new career-high.
