My Favorite Writer: Mark Brown

     

    One of the biggest things that draws me to a writer is whether or not I am interested in what they have to say. Granted, this being a sports blog, I'm sure you can tell what Mark Brown may be all about. Mark Brown writes for "Camden Chat", a Baltimore Orioles community news website. Camden Chat publishes many great works about the Orioles and keeps you up to date with everything you need to know to stay in the loop. 

    Brown is one of the primary writers for Camden Chat. One of the things that I enjoy most about his writings is how he breaks down what needs to be broken down, but does not go too in-depth about things that do not matter. It helps every Baltimore fan keep track of who might be on the IL list, who might be starting, and who they think should be starting. This whole community website is opinion-oriented and has many different threads. 

    One of my favorite threads posted by Brown are the "Daily Bird Droppings". Each day, Brown publishes a recap of what is going on in not only in Baltimore, but the entire baseball world. It is easy for me to be able to read these posts and get a good idea of exactly what is going on for Baltimore. I like that Brown is able to save me the time and research and simply give me all of the important points in one place. 

    The most recent piece by Brown is titled "Current Baltimore Orioles roster". The description under this peice says "Orioles players on the 40-man roster and their number of remaining minor league options". This subtitle gets straight to the point by using a summary lead. It makes it easy for individuals to know exactly what they will be getting in the post. If he did not include this, people may wonder why he is discussing minor league options that have nothing to do with their 40-man roster. 

    Brown's writing then goes into all of the transactions that the Orioles have made during the off-season. This makes it easy for fans to know exactly where these players came from, as well as who they had to give up in order to attain them. Personally, I have the MLB app notifications on, but there are so many sent out that it is nearly impossible to check every single one so when I want to know about my favorite team, this is where I go and I like how easy Brown makes it to stay updated. 

View some recent pieces from Brown on Camden Chat below!

Former Orioles All-Star Jorhn Means is reportedly signing with the Guardians

Tomoyuki Sugano's late-career MLB leap is important to the fortunes of the Orioles

Sunday Bird Droppings: All Orioles pitchers have officially made it to spring training

Trey Mancini in 500 Words

    From Florida to Notre Dame to Baltimore, Trey Mancini has been a star first basemen since his youngest years. His journey throughout his baseball career was tough, but even stage 3 colon cancer was not enough to stop him. 

    Mancini is from Winter Haven, Florida where he attended Winter Haven High School and made huge moves for their baseball program. Following high school baseball, he was offered a scholarship to continue his career at the University of Notre Dame where he played a crucial role in their program

    Drafted in 2016, Mancini signed to the Baltimore Orioles organization, where he quickly became a fan favorite. His skill, combined with his heart and love for the game, made O's fans love him. He was a strong addition to the Baltimore lineup. Mancini ended with a .357 batting average in his first season with the Orioles, and added up 117 home-runs in his 5 seasons with the O's.

    However, if one were to look at Mancini's stats, they would notice a blank spot in his stats for the year of 2020. This is not because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because Mancini was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer towards the end of 2019. This caused him to miss the entirety of the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season. Instead of taking this setback as a loss, he chose to take this opportunity to bring awareness to his diagnosis, and use his platform in a positive way. 

    Even when Mancini was undergoing treatments through a global pandemic, he was committed to being an advocate for cancer education and awareness. Although his goal was to return to Camden Yards with the O's for 2021 Opening Day, he was not just going to turn his back on the journey he had endured.

    Mancini stated that even though he was eager to get back on the field, he could not go on without doing everything he could to help others struggling with the same diagnosis. He partnered with many organizations, including the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Play Ball shortly after his diagnosis. Mancini claimed that he knew "given his line of work, that he could have an impact on people like they had on him", and an impact is an understatement for the change that Mancini was able to make. He raised over $80,000 for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance through t-shirt sales, and returned in 2021 to be named the American League Comeback Player of the Year. 

   Although the Orioles stood by Mancini during his journey with colon cancer, he was later traded to the Houston Astros in 2022 where he played for one season before he was off to Chicago. Mancini played for the Chicago Cubs for a year as well before he was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2024. 

    It is sad to say that Mancini no longer plays in the Major League, as the Marlins sent him back down to their minor league Triple-A team. Trey Mancini made a huge impact not only on the Orioles organization, but on the entire MLB fanbase along with individuals that are enduring cancer treatments. Mancini was a blessing to the sport, and will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Orioles fans.