By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
First baseman Trey Mancini feels content with his baseball career. Baseball is his first love. He achieved what many dream of.
Mancini played for eight MLB seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels. His story touches many people. Mancini overcame cancer and became a World Series champion.
Mancini won the 2022 World Series with the Astros. He made a great defensive play in Game 5. Mancini had great relationships with every manager he played for. In this podcast interview with MLB Network, he looks back on his career. His fight with cancer is what gave him public attention.
“Whenever you’re diagnosed with cancer, your whole worldview changes; your goals change,” Mancini said. “Baseball beforehand had been my only worry and concern in life for the most part.”
This difficult time gave Mancini a goal: what to do after chemotherapy. Mancini forged relationships and communicated with young people about battling cancer. Mancini always reaches out, tries to tell them what to expect, and helps as much as he can.
Mancini earned AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2021. His first big-league hit was a home run against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. Before making it to the pros, Mancini attended Notre Dame, where he studied Political Science. If he ever thought about another career besides Baseball, it would probably be heading to Washington, D.C., but the reality is that Baseball was always Plan A.
Mancini played for four different teams. Baltimore stands out. Mancini has a strong attachment to the city and organization. Being a part of the Orioles organization was a dream come true.
The day after he officially announced his retirement, the Orioles front office reached out. The Orioles decided to retire him as an Oriole. The team he started his career with.
“It means the world to me,” Mancini said. “I was in the organization for 10 years. I grew so much as a player and person over those 10 years.”
Mancini met many Oriole legends. Brooke Robinson left a profound impact on Mancini.
“One of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and I got to talk to him about his playing days,” Mancini said.
His reasons for retiring included reading the room, a change of landscape, analytics, and, more importantly, wanting to control his own destiny.
“It was important to me to end my career on my terms,” Mancini said.
Mancini finished his career with 129 home runs and 404 RBIs: 805 hits, a .263 BA, and a 775 OPS.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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