The latest WAG Wednesday could guest could’ve had a HAB? Herself, for Sara Perlman was a state champion soccer player in high school and later starred at American University.
Instead, she chose a career in journalism after graduating from the University of Florida, and the current NBC Sports studio host and former MASN baseball reporter is now a WAG to a pretty famous two-business star: Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles first baseman and heir to the Mancini Peppers throne.
“Right out of college, I worked at MASN and that’s when we met, and we started dating at the end of 2019 after I left for NBC,” Perlman told Carton & Roberts on Wednesday.
Dating someone you cover is frowned upon in sports journalism, and Perlman told the guys that thankfully, she only had a couple experiences with players asking her out that made her uncomfortable. When it came to Mancini, though, they became friends over the two years she covered the Orioles because he was an easy interview – and when it came time for courtship after she left MASN, he didn’t move in right away.
“Definitely would not have been allowed, but he was always a great interview and we became friends,” she said. “It was a few months after I left – Trey’s personality is super respectful – but it worked out.”
They kept their relationship quiet for the first few months because, as Sara said, she didn’t want the optics looking bad on either of them for starting to date so soon after their professional relationship ended.
“I would say for the first month or two we were DL because I worked so hard to that point at my job at MASN and NBC and I wanted to be taken seriously, so I wanted to make sure it was serious before we revealed anything,” she noted.
That all changed within a few months, though, because Mancini was diagnosed with colon cancer early in 2020, so the pair had to come forward with their relationship.
“Our story is so different because of that, but at that point, I totally loved him, and I felt like he was going to fight it and move on,” Perlman said when Craig asked if she ever questioned their relationship after Trey’s diagnosis. “We’re engaged now, and here we are.”
Thankfully, it was baseball that saved his life, as a routine spring physical led to some indicators that led doctors to discover Mancini had cancer.
“He was feeling a little tired in the offseason, but when he went in for his spring physical his iron was really low,” Perlman recalled. “Hi dad had colon cancer, and he was a little young to get a colonoscopy, but that found the large mass in his colon. So I urge all your listeners, get your bloodwork taken and get a colonoscopy, because it’s becoming more invasive and prevalent in younger age groups.”
Mancini did indeed beat cancer that was already Stage 3, and after sitting out 2020, he hit .255 with 21 home runs in 147 games and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
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And that brought another new wrinkle to their relationship: instead of covering the team and joining them everywhere, or having Mancini at home undergoing treatment, the two were separated as he went on road trips while she stayed working with NBC.
“I don’t go to a lot of road series like a lot of wives and girlfriends do – I’ll go on some cool road trips – but I work and we have a dog, so I stay busy and the time flies by,” Perlman said.
One thing Mancini did find time for: proposing to Perlman on a European vacation last fall, albeit a few days later than maybe she would’ve liked!
“We were in Amsterdam, I was looking goof every day, great hair and outfits, thinking he was going to propose, and he never did,” she laughed, before revealing all’s well that ends well: “We went to Ireland, and my sister and brother met us at the Cliffs of Moher, and he did it there. He was super creative, photographer and everything, and my sister flew the ring in with her from Miami, so he killed it.”
The pair will marry this December, although even with a past health scare in his future, the Mancinis don’t plan to bring about the next generation anytime soon.
“Not for a little bit!” Perlman laughed. “He just turned 30 and I’m in my 20s, so we have a little bit.”
They will continue to support the family business, however.
“Sometimes we’ll get (Mancini peppers) when we see his parents, but normally, in the store, I’ll buy them to support the family business,” Sara said. “I mean, I did eat them growing up!”
And in all seriousness, March was Colon Cancer Awareness Month, so Perlman, in addition to urging all men to make sure to take care of their health in that regard, also gave the lowdown on what she and her future hubby are doing with the Trey Mancini Foundation.
“We do a lot with colon cancer awareness, and we do a lot to help kids in the Baltimore area, with backpacks around school starting and bringing canned groceries to Camden Yards,” she said.
You can check out the Trey Mancini Foundation on the web, catch Perlman this spring doing USFL halftime broadcasts on NBC, and see Trey and the Orioles when they visit Yankee Stadium for the first time from April 26-28.
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