Trey Mancini, former Oriole who overcame cancer, retires from baseball

Trey Mancini, the longtime Orioles player who made not one but two emotional comebacks to Major League Baseball, has retired, he confirmed in a text to The Banner.

Mancini’s latest comeback brought the 34-year-old to the Los Angeles Angels this season after three years out of the majors. In his first game in early June, Mancini recorded three hits and an RBI. He played five games before he was designated for assignment.

The comeback was made even more special because of who was there to see it. In 2020, Mancini was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He wondered if he would live long enough to have a child. But at Angel Stadium in June, Mancini’s wife, Sara, and their daughter, Sadie, were present.

“To have her there the other night,” Mancini said, “it seemed like a dream.”

In a letter posted to his Instagram account, Mancini thanked teammates, family members, coaches and fans for their support over the years. He offered special thanks to the Orioles athletic trainers who noticed the abnormalities in his blood test at spring training that led to his cancer diagnosis, and the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital who treated him.

“Simply put, your proactivity and expertise saved my life, and I am forever indebted to you all,” he wrote.

Mancini’s diagnosis interrupted the prime of his career. The former eighth-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2013 debuted with Baltimore in 2016, and he became a regular the next three seasons. But he missed the COVID-shortened 2020 season as he was treated for colon cancer.

Upon returning in 2021, Mancini became a centerpiece once more for a rebuilding club. He also appeared in the 2021 Home Run Derby, making a run to the final round before he lost to future Oriole Pete Alonso.

Mancini played 92 games for Baltimore in 2022 before the club traded him to the Houston Astros. With Houston, Mancini won a World Series. He then signed a few months later with the Chicago Cubs.

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network first reported the news of Mancini’s retirement.

Over 836 games, Mancini hit .263 with 129 home runs, 404 RBIs and a .775 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

“The game has been the focal point of my life since my parents signed me up for T-ball 30 years ago, and I have immense gratitude for everything it has given me,” Mancini wrote on social media. “Thank you to everyone along the way who made it the journey of a lifetime.”