It was just a couple years ago that Trey Mancini was recognized as the Baltimore Orioles stud outfielder. Fast forward a couple years later, and Mancini carries a load that not many others are capable of. Last April, the star outfielder revealed he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer a month after undergoing surgery in order to remove a tumor.
It was just a regular day when doctors discovered Mancini had a tumor as he was just showing up to an Orioles physical. He had been fatigued an usual amount and doctors expected the source of the problem to be related to gluten intolerance. That wasn’t the case.
Adding Some Perspective
A health scare of this magnitude certainly adds a solid amount of perspective into one’s life, especially an athlete. Other things become your main priority rather than a game, or for his sake, his job.
When Mancini became healthy, he said,
“I’d be lying if I’d say that was the first thing that came to mind. The whole time I just wanted to be healthy long term and live a long life. And baseball definitely was on the back burner when I was going through all that.”
Trey Mancini was just 28 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. His doctor, Dr. Jason Klapman, noted that it is extremely rare and unique to see someone below age 30 with this form of cancer. Mancinis’ dad, Tony, survived colon cancer at age 58.
Charity Work
In the beginning stages of Mancini’s cancer, he spent a large portion of his time connecting with teammates, coaches, and Orioles fans. After beating the initial wave, he spent his recovery process devoted to a new audience. Mancini said,
“A lot of people helped me out through my journey. Now, being able to inspire and help other people is what I see as returning the favor and something I want to do.”
Now, Mancini spoke with fellow colon cancer survivors, advocacy groups, and medical professionals. In his partnership with Colorectal Cancer Alliance, he helped raise over $80,000 in promoting awareness. He takes every public opportunity to stress the significance of early colorectal cancer screening since he’s beyond thankful his sport requires testing.
Returning to Baseball
Throughout his entire year away from baseball, Trey was focused on something much bigger: battling and beating stage 3 colon cancer. He wouldn’t consider the recovery process or comeback complete until he was on the field on Opening Day. April 1, 2021 that day finally came for Trey Mancini.
In his first game since September 29, 2019 Mancini reached base twice out of his four plate appearances in a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. At his first at-bat, he received a hug from Red Sox catcher, Christian Vazquez. In his first inning in the field, he received a similar type of embracement from Red Sox shortstop, Xander Bogaerts.
The 2019 MLB season was one to remember for Mancini. He finished the year with a total of 35 home runs, 97 RBIs, and a .291 batting average. Perhaps, the 2021 season will be even better.
Miraculously, Mancini sits atop of the RBI leaderboard at this point in the season with 41 RBIs. In addition, he already has 10 home runs and is batting .280. Have we ever seen a return to a sport quite like the one Trey Mancini is putting together?
In 2019, Mancini was beloved by his teammates and all Orioles Fans. In 2021, Mancini is loved by all of baseball and so many more. Deservingly so, Mancini is a prime example of a strong role-model in sports.
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