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USATSI

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini announced he had Stage III colon cancer in a Players' Tribune essay last week. And while the Orioles aren't together with MLB shut down due to the coronavirus, Mancini's teammates showed their support this weekend. 

On a group video chat, 48 team personnel held signs – on everything from paper to cellphones and a whiteboard – with the hashtag "#F16HT," referencing Mancini's No. 16 jersey number.

From Mancini's ear-to-ear smile, it's clear he appreciated the gesture. 

Mancini, who turned 28 in March, left the Orioles in spring training to surgically remove a malignant tumor from his colon. On April 13, shortly after doctors gave him a cancer diagnosis, he began chemotherapy. Because of COVID-19, Mancini's wife, Sara, isn't allowed to drive him to the hospital – part of the reason why he wrote "chemo in the age of COVID-19 is crazy."

"But to have something like cancer suddenly just completely dominating every other thought that was going through my head was … something I never thought I'd ever experience," Mancini wrote. "I've just had to quickly accept this as my new reality. And I have a new challenge ahead of me now: Rather than facing Gerrit Cole on Opening Day, I'm going to have to go through chemo."

Mancini noted that "if baseball returns in 2020, it will probably be without me," as he's undergoing treatment twice a week for the next six months. Even if he can't play immediately, Mancini wrote he wants the baseball season to begin soon so he could spend time with his teammates.

"So, I really wish there was a season going on and everything was normal," Mancini wrote. "Baseball will be back. I don't know when, but I'm sure the game will return."

Mancini had his best career season in 2019, hitting .291/.364/.535 with 35 homers.