Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini missed the entire shortened season last year as he was battling for his life with colon cancer. Mancini received a warm welcome before the Orioles took the field in their opening Grapefruit League game.
Trey Mancini was initially given a partial ovation after warmups had concluded, and then a full standing ovation from the small capacity crowd at Ed Smith Stadium prior to his first at-bat, as the fans acknowledged his struggle, Mancini responded with a tip of the cap.
The ovation lasted just over a minute and Mancini was seen fighting back tears.
Orioles 1B Trey Mancini singled in his first AB since recovering from stage 3 colon cancer 👏
(via @JoeTrezz) https://t.co/JScu4LxItP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 28, 2021
Trey Mancini was the top Orioles hitter and most popular player before he was forced to sit out all of last year. In 2019, Mancini hit .291/.364/.535 with 35 home runs and 97 RBIs. In Mancini's first at-bat in over a year, he worked the count full, before singling to center off Chad Kuhl.
https://twitter.com/JoeTrezz/status/1366096200756297728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1366096200756297728%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlb.com%2Fnews%2Ftrey-mancini-receives-ovation-after-beating-cancer
He was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in March 2020, which resulted in him undergoing surgery to remove a malignant tumor, the day baseball shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. He has now completed six months of chemotherapy treatment and announced in September that he is cancer-free to go back on the field.
Mancini's return is not just a sports story, but it's a story about life and perseverance and will be one of the great stories of sports this year.