Notre Dame pitching coach Chuck Ristano was in the Atlanta airport last month when Trey Mancini’s name appeared on his phone. Over the decade they have known each other, messages from player to coach were often holiday wishes and congratulatory texts after the births of Ristano’s two children.
But a light buzz filled Ristano’s head as his mind drifted to the worst. He thought back to the previous March and the text Mancini sent revealing that, for the second time in a month, one of his former players was diagnosed with cancer.
To those close to them, the similarities between Mancini and Ricky Palmer are striking: The hardest worker but one who consistently directed credit to others.