MLB Players Vote Trey Mancini 2021 AL Comeback Player, Ryan Mountcastle 2021 AL Outstanding Rookie
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini won the 2021 Players Choice Award for American League Comeback Player after he beat stage III colon cancer and returned to play 147 games in 2021.
The awarded was voted on by players across Major League Baseball.
On the season, Mancini hit .255 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 616 plate appearances. Perhaps the highlight was Mancini reaching the finals of the Home Run Derby a day before MLB's All-Star Game, falling just short of eventual winner Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
After being diagnosed in spring training 2020, Mancini missed the pandemic-shortened season as he recovered from surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon and went through six months of chemotherapy treatment.
"It means the world to me," Mancini said of the award in a video released by the Major League Baseball Players Association. "There were a lot of times last year that I wasn't exactly sure that I'd be able to play again."
Current and former teammates and players from across the league commended Mancini's accomplishments in the same video.
"For him to have the perseverance to not only get healthy and get better, but also to make his way back and put up the numbers that he did this year, it's unfathomable, honestly," said Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray
Fellow Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said seeing Mancini throughout the season was inspirational.
"For you to overcome the obstacles that you had to face, it's truly amazing," he said.
The definition of a fighter and an inspiration to many ????
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) October 28, 2021
MLB Players have chosen @TreyMancini as the 2021 AL Comeback Player! Congratulations, Trey ???? A well-deserved honor.
Presented by @MLBTheShow #PCA21@Orioles pic.twitter.com/EX9F7lCw9G
Mountcastle was also recognized by his peers, winning the 2021 Players Choice Award for American League Outstanding Rookie after hitting .255 with 33 home runs and 89 RBI. He set the franchise mark for home runs in a season by a rookie.
Making his way to the top!
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) October 28, 2021
MLB Players have chosen Ryan Mountcastle as the 2021 AL Outstanding Rookie! Congratulations, Ryan!
Presented by @MLBTheShow #PCA21@Orioles pic.twitter.com/itxXbc8x72
Former Oriole Mark Belanger, who played in Baltimore from 1965 to 1981, won the Curt Flood Award given to "a former player, living or deceased, who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of players' rights," according to MLB.com.
The late Mark Belanger, a longtime player advocate as an executive board member and the first former player hired to work for the union, is the 2021 recipient of the Curt Flood Award.
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) October 28, 2021
Presented by @MLBTheShow #PCA21 pic.twitter.com/OzqASoCT4m
Belanger was the first former ballplayer hired to work for the union, according to MLB.com.