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Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! Did you catch that Home Run Derby in Colorado last night? It was incredible! Our own Trey Mancini didn’t win, but he did make it to the finals in an incredible showing.
In the first round, Mancini was up against Matt Olson of the Athletics. As the lower seed, Mancini went first. In fact, he was the first player to take a turn in the contest. He started off slow, but after taking a time out he got into a groove and started cranking out dingers. He finished the first round with 23 home runs.
Olson started off at a quicker pace than Trey, but then slowed down towards the end. He hit a ball at the buzzer that looked like it might get out but it just missed, which allowed Trey to beat him by just one dinger.
In the second round, Mancini faced hometown player Trevor Story. Story had defeated Joey Gallo in the first round and he had the crowd on his side. Both Story and Mancini were visibly tired in the round. Story went first and hit 12 homers, then Trey hit 13 with some time to spare to put himself into the finals.
I’ll be honest. I was happy that Trey Mancini was going to the Home Run Derby. I thought it would be fun and cool (and it was both of those things). But I sort of expected that he’d be eliminated early on. That’s not cool of me, I know! I was happy to be wrong when he bashed his way into the finals.
Up against Pete Alonso, Mancini did about as good as anyone could have hoped in the final round. With one fewer minute than in the previous rounds, he got a second wind and knocked in 22 homers. He was just launching them one after the other. It was fantastic. Against anyone else, he would have had a chance.
Alonso was the only player in the contest who didn’t seem to tire at all. He launched majestic homer after majestic homer, each one more incredible than the last. Between pitches he bopped his head to the music over the speakers, music that he had picked out. Going into the final minute, Alonso needed six home runs to pass Mancini. He didn’t need nearly the entire minute as he hit six home runs in six swings to finish things off.
Pete Alonso was unstoppable last night, but Trey Mancini was incredible in his own right. It was a lot of fun watching him and seeing all of the support he was getting from not only his teammate Cedric Mullins, but also his former teammate Manny Machado. It was just so wonderful to see Trey up to full speed not even a year after finishing his cancer treatments. It was just a treat. We are so proud of you, Trey!
Speaking of Mullins, tonight will be his time to shine. Named a starter in the All Star Game just yesterday, Mullins will be batting ninth and manning centerfield for the American League team. Hopefully he can take the torch from Mancini and show the world that Birdland does indeed have a few things worth cheering for. It’s a well deserved honor for Mullins, who this year is the best outfielder in baseball.
Links
Trey Mancini's remarkable return - ESPN
A great story on Trey Mancini's journey by former Sun sportswriter Kevin Van Valkenburg.
On Draft Day 2, Orioles select Norby, nation's hit leader, and 1 pitcher - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff has the day two roundup with quotes from Brad Ciolek, supervisor of domestic scouting for the Orioles.
College coach hopes to serve up homers to Orioles' Trey Mancini in Home Run Derby | FOX Sports
A feel good story about the man throwing to Trey Mancini in last night's home run derby. He was also Trey's pitcher in 2013, when Trey won the Big East HR Derby.
Mullins' college coach remembers the outfielder having "that edge" - School of Roch
Roch Kubatko has an interview with Justin Haire, the head coach at Campbell University where Cedric Mullins attended college.
Orioles Prospect D.L. Hall Hopes To Bring Bowie's 'Winning Spirit' To Baltimore - PressBoxOnline.com
DL Hall, Adley Rutchsman, and Grayson Rodriguez are besties! Will they be as adorable in Baltimore as Manny and Schoop? Hard to imagine, but I look forward to finding out.
After batting practice blast, Orioles top prospect Adley Rutschman brings patience, quips to MLB All-Star Futures Game - Baltimore Sun
I think the Orioles should just call Adley up after the break. Who's with me?
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies, all pitchers. Pat Rapp (54) made 30 starts for the 2000 Orioles. Mark Brown (no, not that Mark Brown) turns 62 today. He made nine pitching appearances for the 1984 team. And Fritz Dorish (b. 1921, d. 2000) pitched in relief for the Orioles from 1955-56.
On this day in 1991, Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Gregg Olson combined to pitcher a no-hitter for the Orioles against the Oakland A’s. Milacki had to come out of the game in the sixth inning when he was hit in the hand by a comebacker.