O's players, Hyde wish Mancini happy birthday

March 18th, 2020

The Orioles are going through this difficult time without their best player, with the health of on their minds following Mancini’s recent operation to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. Mancini turned 28 on Wednesday, less than a week after his operation, which happened to fall on the same day baseball was halted due to the coronavirus.

The Orioles wanted to let Mancini know how much they’re thinking about him.

That was clear by the “Happy Birthday” montage put together by the club Wednesday, when manager Brandon Hyde and more than a dozen current Orioles came together to wish Mancini a speedy recovery. Players who appeared in the video, posted on the club’s official Twitter account, included John Means, Hanser Alberto, Asher Wojciechowski, José Iglesias, Richie Martin, Travis Lakins Sr., Richard Bleier, Ryan McKenna, Dwight Smith Jr., Anthony Santander, David Hess, Shawn Armstrong and Dilson Herrera.

Chris Davis did the same in a separate video posted to the first baseman’s personal Twitter account. And the love did not stop there.

In a separate video, Mancini received a similar message from his most famous off-the-field friend, 13-year-old Baltimore superfan Mo Gaba. Mancini has cultivated a relationship for several years with Gaba hosting this past December’s Purple Tailgate to support him. Gaba is battling cancer for the fourth time.

“I hope you’re feeling well and have a good birthday,” Gaba said in the video. “I just want to tell you how much you mean to me.”