Get yourself someone who has your back like Orioles CF Cedric Mullins has teammate Trey Mancini’s.
Last month, Mullins, 27, announced his breakout 2021 campaign came on the heels of having about a dozen centimeters of his intestine removed due to Crohn’s Disease.
Why did he wait so long to come clean? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.
“My situation wasn’t life or death,” Mullins said. “It was something I knew I’d be able to come back from, and Trey was coming back from his chemotherapy [from stage 3 colon cancer], and for me, all the support needed to go to him. For him to do what he did, come back and play a full season, regardless of how tired he was, he showed up every single day and he performed really well. I thought that was important for him to get that recognition.
“His accomplishment, it really outweighs mine, in my opinion. That was his moment.”
Holy cow.
The 29-year-old OF/1B earned AL Comeback Player of the Year as he played 147 games after missing the 2020 season.
After chalking up early-season stomach issues to food poisoning, Mullins was diagnosed, finished the 2020 season on antibiotics, and underwent surgery in the offseason. He reached out to Mancini for advice prior to the season.
“I told him you have a lot of time to catch up and don’t rush into anything,” Mancini said. “You’ve got a lot of time to get back and be yourself, and we all saw what did. He did just fine, so I think he ramped up the proper amount.”
Indeed, Mullins heeded the advice and did better than fine: He became the team’s first player to record 30 home runs with 30 steals; was an All-Star and Silver Slugger; and was the first player since 1965 to finish in top 10 MVP voting while playing for a 100-loss team.
“My recovery time in between games was a lot better,” Mullins said. “Able to get better sleep, able to eat better. I think that was the biggest thing, feeling natural energy coming back without having to force it.”
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde described Mullins as the “ultimate teammate,” though that seems like an understatement.
“You never saw him let it bother him one time throughout the year,” Hyde said. “He never talked about it. He’s just such a positive guy that I think when it came out and he talked about it, a next level of appreciation came from everybody of what this guy was battling, what he went through and then to have the year he had just says how quality of a guy he is.”
