Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini is back to batting practice

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini is back to taking batting practice after completing treatment for colon cancer.

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini is well on his way to becoming the feel good story of 2021. The Orioles Twitter account posted a video of him taking hacks in the cage after completing treatment for stage III colon cancer.

You can’t help but feel great for this guy. He missed the entire 2020 season after his cancer diagnosis. It’s something nobody should ever have to go through and it cost him a year of his career. But he fought through it, and is now aiming to return for the 2021 season.

He’ll be the clear early favorite for comeback player of the year and it’s going to be nearly impossible for someone to take that award from him. Before the diagnosis, Mancini was arguably the best hitter on the Orioles. He has a career slash line of .276/.335/.485 for an OPS of .819. And 2019 was the best year of his career, hitting .291/.364/.535 for an OPS of .899.

He’ll be a welcomed return to the Baltimore Orioles lineup. They finished 17th in runs per game at 4.57 in 2020. Their pitching staff is their biggest weakness, but adding Mancini back to the lineup can help mitigate the damage they allow by doing some more damage of their own.

And to many, it doesn’t even matter how he performs on the field in 2021. Returning to the game after being diagnosed with stage III colon cancer is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. There won’t be a single baseball fan in the world rooting against him come spring.

So I want to take a moment to express my congratulations to Trey Mancini. You’re an inspiration to me and to millions across the world. We wish nothing but health and success for you going forward.