While MLB league officials continue to tackle various plans of reopening, Orioles’ first baseman Trey Mancini has much deeper concerns. Stage three colon cancer.
This morning, the 28-year-old baseball player took to The Players’ Tribune to announce he’d been diagnosed with colon cancer in early March and is undergoing chemotherapy. So even if baseball returns for a 2020 season, Mancini will not take part in it.
According to Mancini, he’d never detect the disease if it weren’t for a spring training blood test which revealed low iron levels. Initially, doctors believed celiac disease could be a possibility, though later testing revealed a much more concerning result.
Instead of taking the news in a sorrowful approach, Mancini used the opportunity to reminisce the journey which landed him playing for the Orioles and accomplishing so much in his early life. The young player also expressed appreciation for his baseball colleagues who have taken the time to check up on him during these trying times.
The Players Tribune
“So many people in the game have gotten in touch with me to ask me how I’m doing or to express their support,” Mancini wrote. “ It’s truly humbling. Man, I love baseball.”
In his story, Mancini addressed the struggles of experiencing chemotherapy during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I'm getting chemo at a hospital in Baltimore, and I have to drive up there alone,” he wrote. “Nobody is allowed to come in with me, and that's completely fine by me. I don't want anybody else being put at risk — people that are close to me and that I love, and other people in the hospital. You just never know. COVID-19 has spread so quickly. I'm definitely trying to follow all the protocols, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because I don't want to expose myself to anything, especially before going into chemotherapy."
Mancini said he took to social media to let the fans know he was in good spirits regardless of the diagnosis, and while he has a lot to take on, he still daydreams about stepping back in the field.
Last season. Mancini accomplished a .291 batting average with 35 home runs, 97 RBI, and 106 runs scored for the Orioles. We can only hope and pray he recovers and has the opportunity to give the Orioles the best of him once this is all over.
“I’ve got other things to worry about right now, though. I know that. But still, every once in awhile I catch myself thinking ahead — to when chemo is over, to when they remove my port, to when I can start going full-speed again.
And I already can’t wait for spring training.”