OFF THE WALL

We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

Mancini gives Oriole fans a ‘goosebumps moment’

In his first live at-bat in nearly a year, Orioles first baseman marked his return to baseball after missing all of 2020 because of stage 3 colon cancer with a base hit in the team’s spring training opener Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

All through the morning to the standing ovation before his first at-bat and his hit to cap it off, Mancini reflected on the moments from this past year that he’s attempted to move past as baseball takes over his life yet again.

“All day, I’ve just kind of been running through the last year and everything that me and (Mancini’s girlfriend) and my family have been through,” he said. “It’s almost been a year to the day, a couple days off since I was last in a game. It definitely was a moment where it felt like it maybe came full circle a little bit.

“I thought more about everything that happened today than I have in a long time. I’ve mostly tried to in a lot of ways just move on and not think too much about last year, but I ran through all the tough days that we had and I really tried to appreciate and cherish today. I definitely did that.”

Mancini got a smattering of applause as he walked to the dugout from his pregame stretch on the outfield grass and got a nice ovation during the announcement of starting lineups. After outfielder singled to open the Orioles’ first inning, Mancini soaked in nearly a minute of applause before he stepped in the batter’s box.

Mancini worked the count full before singling to center field for his first hit of the spring.

“It was amazing,” Mancini said. “I almost teared up a little bit, I’m not going to lie, when I was up there and everybody gave me a standing ovation and I saw all the guys on the field clapping on the Pirates, clapping in the dugout, our team and all our fans.

“It meant the world to me. It was a really, really cool moment and one of the favorite moments of my baseball career. I think it was a huge day for me, personally, getting back in a game. Just another kind of milestone that I can check off here.”

Orioles manager called it a “goosebumps moment,” thanking the Pirates players and manager for allowing Mancini to soak it in.

“I thought it was just a real class act by the Pirates and the fans,” he said.

Mancini, who was voted Most Valuable Oriole in 2019, didn’t get a chance to reprise that honor in 2020. His spring training physical revealed a red flag in his iron levels, and further tests uncovered a malignant tumor in his colon.

He missed the entire season after surgery in mid-March and six months of chemotherapy treatment, but came back for a full schedule of offseason workouts.

With Perlman, his parents, and other family members in attendance, Mancini was surrounded by many from his inner circle, who this time last year flocked to Sarasota to support him as the reality of his diagnosis set in.

Sara Perlman Trey Mancini Cedric Mullins Brandon Hyde Derek Shelton Trivia question

Mancini hit 35 homers in 2019. Who holds the record for most homers in a season by an Oriole?

Trivia answer Chris Davis

holds the Orioles record with 53 homers in 2013. hit 50 in 1996, had 49 in 1966. Davis (2015) and (2016) hit 47.

Brady Anderson Frank Robinson Mark Trumbo