Even now, a number of days faraway from the curtain name that marked the tip of Trey Mancini’s profession as an Oriole at Camden Yards, he and his fiancée Sara Perlman get goosebumps excited about it. The crowd chanted Mancini’s identify, longing for a solution to say goodbye to a participant who’s recognized no different residence within the massive leagues.
Mancini, who had simply hit an inside-the-park residence run on Mo Gaba Day on Thursday, popped his head out of the dugout. He waved to Perlman. He waved to the remainder of the followers clad in orange. And then he ducked again into the dugout, realizing that may’ve been the tip of a decade-long tenure with the Orioles group.
“I told him after, I felt like that almost had to be his last home game,” Perlman advised The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday. “It almost felt too poetic. It was insane.”
For Mancini and Perlman, the feelings of that second haven’t waned. Mancini was traded to the Houston Astros on Monday, signaling Baltimore’s intentions to promote regardless of an above-.500 report getting into Tuesday’s commerce deadline. Perlman is flying to Texas this week to seek out housing and full a transfer whereas Mancini acquaints himself with a brand new franchise.
But the couple is abandoning the town the place they met and grew as people and as a pair. And for all the joy of what Houston may supply — with a postseason berth virtually a lock and World Series aspirations, there’s lots to be excited for — there’s nonetheless a gap the place Baltimore suits.
It’s the place they fell in love. It’s the place Mancini fought and overcame stage 3 colon most cancers. It’s the place he grew to become a fan favourite since his MLB debut in 2016.
“Baltimore’s just going to always be so special,” Mancini advised The Sun on Tuesday. “My connection with the fans, my connection with the community, [Johns] Hopkins [Hospital] is there. And that’s where I met Sara. I spent a third of my life in the Orioles organization. That’s a long time. It’s still hard to put into words, but that’s the best I can do.”
Added Perlman: “I met Trey here. This city in itself holds a really special place in our hearts. Two, Johns Hopkins, arguably the most important aspect of this all. And also, when you go to Camden Yards, 50% of the stadium is wearing Mancini jerseys.”
Over the final month or so at Camden Yards, as the potential of a Mancini commerce grew, an increasing number of followers approached Perlman within the stands. Some needed hugs, or photographs, or each. Others needed to inform her how a lot Mancini’s journey by way of most cancers — lacking the 2020 season earlier than a 2021 return that included a runner-up end within the Home Run Derby and culminated with the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award — meant to them or their household.
Mancini’s affect went past the diamond, even because the 30-year-old’s .751 on-base plus slugging share made him a lovely choice for a number of groups on the deadline.
“All of those things,” Perlman mentioned, “are hard to have in a new city.”
When Mancini thinks again on his expertise with the Orioles, his ideas begin together with his first recreation for the Aberdeen IronBirds in 2013. An eighth-round pick of Notre Dame, Mancini was impressed by what number of followers within the crowd knew who he was. That by no means modified, with Mancini turning into the longest-tenured Oriole earlier than Monday’s commerce.
Playing right here additionally held significance. Mancini’s mom lives in Bowie. His grandfather was an Orioles season ticket holder for twenty years earlier than his demise. On the day he would’ve turned 79, Mancini homered in his Orioles debut.
The standing ovation he acquired after his closing Oriole at-bat at Camden Yards felt like closure, he mentioned.
“There’s not much else I can ask for,” Mancini mentioned, who famous he’s leaving the group on the “best terms imaginable.”
“I’m so lucky to have spent 10 years in the organization — an organization that I grew up watching and following,” Mancini continued. “It really was a dream come true for me to play for the Orioles.”
Mancini’s contract accommodates a mutual choice for the 2023 season. It’s unusual for the staff and participant to select it up, which might imply Mancini turns into a free agent after the season. No matter what occurs past 2022, Mancini and Perlman plan to stay linked to Baltimore.
Through the couple’s work with the Trey Mancini Foundation, and their connection to Mancini’s nurses and oncologist at Johns Hopkins, they’ll keep near the town. When the Astros play the Orioles at Camden Yards in September, Perlman mentioned one of many nurses plans to be on the recreation to cheer for Mancini.
But the quick whirlwind for Mancini and Perlman is one thing they’ve by no means been by way of earlier than. Mancini mentioned goodbye to his Baltimore teammates, a gaggle he felt “so thankful and lucky to be a part of.” And whereas he’s leaving a membership on the cusp of a turnaround, that just about makes saying goodbye simpler — “I know I’m leaving the Orioles in a really good spot.”
Then he reported to Houston, the place the Astros are taking part in the Red Sox. Perlman, with the couple’s canine, is flying to Houston this week.
“When he comes back home to Houston — which sounds so weird out loud — I will hopefully have us moved in and set up for hopefully the next three months,” Perlman mentioned.
It’s all totally different. It’s all new.
Baltimore meant a lot to every of them — and even now that it’s within the rearview, their emotions for the town and its followers won’t ever change.
“We’re both just really grateful,” Perlman mentioned. “If Trey wasn’t drafted right here and if I didn’t take a job right here, we by no means would’ve met. Our lives most likely would by no means have crossed paths. For so many causes, we’re unhappy to go away however excited for the longer term.
“We will miss this city greatly. And truthfully, nothing but the most love for Baltimore and Maryland.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com