Baltimore Orioles Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr Defeats Cancer

The Baltimore Orioles have been playing like no one has expected in 2020, but it just seems like bad news continues to come their way.

First, the Baltimore Orioles had to learn that the face of their team, Trey Mancini, had colon cancer just as the season was shutting down because of COVID-19.

Then, the team had the sad news that Mo Gaba passed away, just after his induction into the team’s Hall of Fame was announced.

To add even more to the heavy thoughts carried by the team, Cal Ripken, Jr just announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February. The Iron Man kept the news close and did not reveal it until a few days ago. Instead of sharing that he was diagnosed and being treated, he revealed on Twitter that he had already beaten it through surgery.

According to MLB reporter, Joe Trezza, Ripken and Mancini have not spoken about their similar diagnoses.

According to Rich Dubroff with Baltimore Baseball, Mancini is still receiving treatments and has three left. In his article about the young outfielder, Dubroff shared that Mancini plays tennis in the off-weeks when he isn’t getting chemo treatments. Dubroff quoted, Mancini’s partner, Sara Perlman said about his cancer:

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"“The doctor told him he had such an aggressive form of cancer that if they wouldn’t have caught it through baseball, it would have been Stage-IV, and it’s really, really hard to live when it  gets to that  point. Some days, we’re really sad, but I think to myself, if he didn’t play baseball, his chances of living were so slim because it becomes metastasis so quickly.”"

While both ball players have shared their cancer stories differently with the media and their fans, they both have similar requests for everyone who will listen. Ripken told reporters:

"“If you are going to get the news, you want to get it when it’s contained and its early … I thought maybe my story, as lucky as it is, could encourage or bring the awareness. You should get checked. You should go to the doctors. You should do all the things necessary to catch this early.”"

Thankfully, Ripken was not sidelined for too long with his cancer diagnosis. And, according to Dubroff’s recent article about Mancini, he looks to be on the mend, too. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to see Mancini return to the field cancer-free.