Orioles public relations exec Monica Barlow passes away at 36

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BALTIMORE - Monica Barlow, public relations director for the Baltimore Orioles, has died, the team says.

A statement from the Orioles says Barlow died Friday of cancer. She was 36 and lived in Ellicott City.

Barlow, a graduate of the College of William and Mary, was an intern for the Orioles in 1999. She worked for the Richmond Braves in 2000 and returned to the Orioles in 2001.

She was promoted to director of public relations in 2008.

Orioles managing partner Peter Angelos said in a statement that Barlow did not let her illness define her and the strength and resiliency she displayed were a great inspiration.

Tributes have been coming in throughout baseball. MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli, who covers the Orioles, wrote:

But that was Monica: selfless, courageous and genuine. She never let her diagnosis prevent her from working long hours at Camden Yards and in my four years on the beat -- traveling around the country in the day-to-day grind of a Major League season -- I never once heard her complain. Monica rarely spoke about her diagnosis in general, unless prompted, and only became comfortable talking about it on the record when she realized it could help others. She was an ambassador of MLB's Stand Up to Cancer and a spokesperson for the LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter called Barlow a "rock":