Nothing makes us appreciate life’s fleeting moments like the sense of an ending.

It feels all but certain that Cedric Mullins, whether he leaves as a free agent this winter or is traded this week, is nearing the end of his stint with the Orioles. But one of the beloved players of the rebuild era isn’t going quietly — and on Saturday night fans at Camden Yards wouldn’t let him leave without showing their appreciation every chance they got.

An 18-0 win over the Colorado Rockies was the best kind of rewind, featuring the Orioles center fielder as the spry defender and power hitter who became a favorite in Baltimore.

When asked if he’s starting to take stock of his career here, Mullins responded with typical understatement: “I don’t know if it’s quite hit me that way yet.”

It’s definitely starting to hit his admirers, though. They applauded every highlight as if sensing a send-off.

A pregame talking point about his declining defense seemed suddenly absurd in the third inning when Mullins sprinted to the left-center gap for a diving catch, reminding us why he once seemed impossible to escape. Watching from the pitcher’s mound, Trevor Rogers gaped in panic, assuming the ball had gotten past Mullins until he heard the crowd go “beserk.”

“I thought there was no chance he got that ball, and he got it,” Rogers said. “So that’s kind of why my reaction was shocked. It was just unbelievable. Best catch I’ve ever seen.”

Mullins showcased his pull power in the bottom of the fourth, launching a three-run homer to put the Orioles up by a comfortable margin. It was the 100th of his career, making him just the third Oriole to hit 100 home runs and steal 100 bases (joining Brady Anderson and Paul Blair).

Even what could have been a ho-hum soft dribbler down the third-base line in the sixth suddenly quickened pulses as Mullins jolted to first, reaching base and forcing a throwing error that scored a run.

This is why this city loves him: Cedric Mullins never gives up. These moments are particularly worth savoring because we don’t know how many are left.

The powerful nostalgic tug won’t change much for the center fielder or the Orioles, who are mired in another losing campaign — circumstances which Mullins has known too well in eight seasons with the ballclub. It was a miracle by itself that he survived the entire rebuild, debuting in 2018 and emerging from three 100-loss seasons as a useful player on a winning team.

Mullins has been here so long that his Saturday night highlights felt like echoes of some of his best on-field memories. The layout catch — with a 30% probability — was eerily reminiscent of his Superman-like leap from April 2024.

“Looking at the video, it’s so similar to the play last year,” he said. “Just one of those things. OK well, which do you put above the other? I said I personally put the one last year, just based on how it felt. I almost want to hear someone else’s rankings at this point.”

He’s homered to the flag court many times, but the latest struck a chord with the May 2023 game when he finished the cycle with a dinger. A celebratory graphic on the soon-to-be-replaced scoreboard heralded the 100-and-100 achievement, coaxing Mullins to give a small wave to the fans in response to their standing ovation as he trotted to center field.

There’s a lot about the Orioles that seems destined to be replaced soon, and for Mullins that change could come this week. He has said he hopes to stay with the organization that drafted him. But the future is rarely ensured for light-hitting center fielders a few months shy of 31, so it may be in the Orioles’ best interest to flip his contract for value at the trade deadline rather than letting him walk at the end of the season.

The logic is understood. But the love isn’t gone — if anything, it’s only swelling now that it feels his time here is coming to a close.

For Mullins, the feeling is mutual.

“Baltimore’s taken my family in since the beginning,” he said. “It’s just one of those things where you just feel welcome. And the engagement I have with the fans is nothing short of awesome.”