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One of the thrills for local baseball fans who take in Blue Sox games at Mackenzie Stadium lies in the unpredictability of who they’ll see take the field on that given day – and who may don a Major League Baseball uniform later on in their career.

 

Blue Sox fans who frequented the ballpark in 2011 were treated to a heavy dose of a young first baseman named Trey Mancini, now first baseman and outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles.

 

The six-foot-four infielder started his Major League Baseball career with a bang, mashing seven homers and driving in 14 runs in his first 12 big-league contests.  He would finish third in the American League’s 2017 Rookie of the Year award voting, bested only by the likes of young superstars Andrew Benintendi and Aaron Judge.

 

Before he was a mainstay in the American League East, Mancini called Western Massachusetts his temporary summer home.

 

The 27-year-old athlete took time out of his offseason schedule in January to chat with the Blue Sox organization and reminisce on his time in the 413.

 

 

Mancini, who played his collegiate baseball at the University of Notre Dame, committed to play summer ball for the Holyoke Blue Sox following the completion of his freshman year.

 

“I didn’t know anything about Holyoke,” laughed Mancini as he recalled his initial thoughts towards playing for the Blue Sox.

 

“But, I heard the NECBL was a good league, and I was just really happy to be in the league.”

 

The then 19-year-old’s stint in the New England Collegiate Baseball League was marked by incredible durability and a pristine power stroke. 

 

Mancini appeared in 46 of 47 games during the 2011 season, swatting nine homers, driving in 37 runs, and posting a .291 batting average, all while transitioning to swinging with a wooden bat.

 

While the Blue Sox ultimately came up short, falling to the Keene Swamp Bats in the Western Division Final, the success of the team was not lost on Mancini.

 

“We ended up having a ton of guys from that year get drafted and a few made it to the majors.  It was a great team to be on.”

 

One of his Blue Sox teammates, catcher Tom Murphy, was recently traded to the Seattle Mariners on March 29th and placed on their 25-man roster.

 

Trey’s success in Holyoke caught the eyes of a number of Major League personnel.  One of those pairs of eyes belonged to Kirk Fredrickson, former General Manager of the Blue Sox.

 

Fredrickson eventually moved on to work for the Baltimore Orioles as a Scouting Supervisor, but was keen on Mancini’s raw power and potential when he entered the draft.

 

“The Holyoke connection is 100 percent the reason I got drafted by the Orioles, and that I’ll always be thankful for,” said Mancini, who was selected by Baltimore in the eighth round (249th overall) of the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft.

 

Those familiar with the structure of the MLB Draft know that an eighth round selection is typically used on a highly regarded player.  One can assume that the Holyoke connection was not the sole reason Mancini was selected.  However, Mancini remained humble, working his way through the Orioles minor league system for parts of four seasons.

 

“Playing college summer ball helped me play in the minors and majors,” said Mancini of his time spent in the NECBL.

 

“College summer ball is pretty much a professional setting in a way.  It’s a little more of a relaxed atmosphere compared to normal college baseball.  It’s a good way to get a taste of that, and you find a way to hold yourself accountable.”

 

Mancini’s season with the Blue Sox was instrumental to the growth of his professional career.  However, he also found value in the personal relationships he forged while playing in Holyoke.

 

“My favorite part about the summer experience was the group of guys we had,” said Mancini of his 2011 Blue Sox teammates.

 

“I thought it was cool that kids from all over the country that go to different schools got to play on the same team in the summer.  I thought we had a really special group here that summer.”

 

Mancini also noted that he keeps in contact with his host family, who housed him for the duration of the 2011 NECBL season.

 

When asked for advice he would give to incoming collegiate players who will make the transition to the NECBL, Mancini referenced his unfamiliarity with New England when he first arrived.

 

“You’ve got to get used to playing away from your comfort zone,” said Mancini.

 

“Like I said, I was from Florida, went to college at Notre Dame.  Both places are very far from New England, but that’s how baseball is.  As you go through the minors and play in the majors, you’re going to be playing in a lot of unfamiliar places.”

 

Mancini also noted the community’s support for the Blue Sox as another benefit in his baseball career.

 

“We got some good crowds in the NECBL, so that was fun.  That was another thing that helped too was to play in front of, at the time, was a pretty decent sized crowd.  If you sell out Mackenzie [Stadium], it can be a little loud in there.”

 

Despite all of the success Mancini has had in the historic major league ballparks, he still reflects on his prior experiences working his way to the show.

 

“It’s humbling to think about where I played in the minors.  A couple spots had like five people at our games once in a while.  Now, I’m getting to play in all of these historical ballparks in front of 40-50 thousand people.”

 

“It’s a dream come true, and pretty cool.”