Trey Mancini Has Been Named One Of 3 Finalists For AL Rookie Of The Year
You all know by now, it was a terrible year for the Orioles. Finished with a losing record for the first time since 2011 because of the following things, pitching stunk, Ubaldo stunk, Miley stunk, and idk if you heard, but the pitching stunk. One thing that didn’t stink? The emergence of Trey Mancini for the Orioles this year. He was named one of the 3 finalists for AL Rookie Of The Year, the winner will be announced on November 13th.
One of the only bright spots in Baltimore this season, Mancini switched positions from first base to left field with just a few days left in Spring Training. Wasn’t even supposed to sniff the Opening Day roster. He ended up securing a spot on the 25 man, and never looked back. If you would have told anyone in Birdland at the beginning of Spring Training that Mancini would be named a finalist for AL ROY, I think they would have given you a weird look (well not me, because I’ve been the conductor of the #TreyTrain for 3 years).
Mancini joins Yankees right fielder, Aaron Judge and Red Sox outfielder, Andrew Benintendi on the ballot for top rookie in the AL. Let’s be real, Judge may win this award unanimously, and rightfully so. But both Benintendi (guy should bunt more), and Mancini had great years as well. In any other year, Mancini has a good shot of winning, but I’m still super happy for the guy. He led MLB in average with RISP for a majority of the year, and that wasn’t a fluke. It seemed like every time the Birds needed a big hit with guys on, Trey delivered. He also had a 17-game hitting streak late in the season, and became the first Orioles rookie to hit 20 homers since some guy named Ripken Jr in 1982.
As I mentioned earlier, Trey was expected to start the year in Triple A Norfolk as a first baseman, but a late Spring Training position switch gave him an opportunity and he grabbed it by the horns. Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter knew they needed to get him to Baltimore after he tore it up in Spring Training, and he made those guys look very smart.
He finished the season playing in 147 games, batted .293 (2nd among AL Rookies), scored 65 runs, led all AL Rookies with 159 hits, hit 26 doubles (3rd among AL Rookies), 4 triples (2nd among AL Rookies), 24 homers (tied for 3rd among AL Rookies), 78 RBI (3rd among AL Rookies), 139 Ks (69 behind Aaron Judge), an OBP of .338, slugged .488 (4th among AL Rookies), and an OPS of .826. Again, HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO MAKE THE TEAM.
There were many questions about how he would play in the outfield this season, and let’s be real. He wasn’t bad at all. I remember a few times in particular the showed off his arm and threw guys out on the base paths, not something we expected. He flashed the leather a few times too, making some fantastic catches in big moments.
He won’t win, he’ll probably finish third, and he may not even get a vote. But that doesn’t mean this guy isn’t a stud. He wasn’t a homers guy in the minors, and has now found that power stroke in Camden Yards. I fully expect to repeat the numbers he put up this season for the next few years. He’s still growing, and learning a new position, so the sky is the limit for Trey. Good for the writers for acknowledging the stellar year that he had as well. Big congrats to Trey for shutting up a lot of people who said he wasn’t an everyday Major League Player, he’s found a home here in Baltimore for a long, long time.
An early congrats to Aaron Judge on winning the award (please credit RDT when this happens), but that doesn’t take anything away from Benintendi an Mancini, this is a very good rookie class.