Orioles 1B Trey Mancini And NBC Sports Reporter Sara Perlman Announce Engagement
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini and NBC Sports reporter Sara Perlman are engaged, providing a happy ending to Mancini's storybook recovery from cancer.
Perlman shared pictures from the couple's trip to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, along with shots of the engagement ring.
FIANCÉ @TreyMancini ☘️????????♥️????❤️????♥️ pic.twitter.com/YJZvIXa1t1
— Sara Perlman (@saraperlman) November 3, 2021
After being diagnosed with stage III colon and enduring months of chemotherapy treatment, Mancini returned to the Orioles in 2021 and played 147 games, earning 2021 AL Comeback Player honors from players across Major League Baseball. Among many highlights, Mancini reached the finals in the Home Run Derby just before the All-Start Game in Denver.
Mancini has said Perlman was instrumental in his return to the diamond. They had been dating for roughly four months when doctors found a mass in his colon during spring training in 2020.
The couple told ESPN in July that, during Mancini's recovery, they would binge-watch TV and play tennis when Mancini had the strength. They also adopted a a terrier-lab-cocker spaniel mix.
When Mancini broke down one day, saying he was scared and wanted to live a long life and start a family, Perlman reassured him.
"We will. We'll be fine. You'll be fine," she told him. "I know with all my heart that this stuff is helping you. If there's any cancer cells left into you, the chemotherapy is doing its job and you're going to be OK."
Even after his return to baseball, Mancini said his thoughts sometimes return to cancer, and Perlman is always there to bring him back.
"Back in January, I was convinced something was wrong," Mancini said. "She was like, 'You are fine. You just had scans a month ago. Everything, by all accounts, looks good. Let's move forward and be positive.' Every time, she snaps me out of it."