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.

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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 Manciniā€™s first at-bat in over a year, he worked the count full, before singling to center off Chad Kuhl.

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.

Manciniā€™s return is not just a sports story, but itā€™s a story about life and perseverance and will be one of the great stories of sports this year.