Rookie Season Has Been Worth The Wait For Rays’ 29-Year-Old Jake Mangum

On September 20, 1998, Week 3 of the NFL season, the Chicago Bears blew a 15-0 halftime lead and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-15 at Raymond James Stadium. It was the 105^th and final game in the career of Bears defensive back John Mangum, who completed the season on Injured Reserve. Nearly 27 years later and a couple of hundred yards across N. Dale Mabry Highway at Steinbrenner Field, Jake Mangum made his MLB debut.

When Mangum stepped out of the dugout and jogged to right field before first pitch of the Rays’ March 30 game against the visiting Rockies, it was a moment that made the journey to his MLB debut at age 29 well worth it. Especially with 15 family members and friends in attendance, including John and mother Stacy.

After going 0-for-3 with a walk in his debut, Mangum recorded many firsts the following day against the Pirates when he went 4-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two stolen bases. He became the first player in the modern era (since 1901) with at least four hits, including an extra-base hit, and multiple steals in a game within his first two MLB games. More importantly, his aforementioned rooting section was on hand to witness the effort. (As a bonus, fellow Mississippi State product and Pirates second baseman, Adam Frazier, tossed the ball from Mangum’s first hit toward the Rays’ dugout.)

“There’s just so many people that, genuinely, I would not be here without all of them,” Mangum said. “To celebrate these moments with them, it’s just been indescribable.”

Undeterred by setback

Mangum kept the momentum rolling. He was hitting .338 with eight stolen bases in 21 games while playing all three outfield positions. Only a left groin strain sustained at Arizona on April 23, less than one month after realizing his dream of becoming a major leaguer, could slow him. Instead of hanging his head over what would be a five-week IL stint, Mangum held it high and went to work.

“Faith, family, friends,” he said prior to Tuesday’s game against the Rangers, his first at home since returning to the club in Houston on May 30, on what he leaned on while his big-league dream was suddenly stalled. “(Injuries) are part of the game. I am not the first person to pull a muscle, and I won’t be the last person to pull a muscle.”

So true. Thanks to his support system and his positive outlook, Mangum was able to focus on getting healthy and returning to the lineup.

“Baseball is like life,” said. “There are good days and bad days. Look at each day with what you got and attack it head on the best you can. When you fail, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Family and friends made the drive from Mangum’s native Mississippi to Houston where he hit his first major league home run May 31. It is a treasure given to Stacy by a Sarasota-based Rays fan who ended up with the ball.

“I was happy my parents and friends made it,” said Mangum. “I heard from former coaches, former teammates. It was cool. It was a special day and one I will not forget.”

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash cannot say enough good things about how Mangum has gone about his work while producing on both sides of the ball.

“He is a player you could put anywhere in the lineup and know that you are going to get pressure from his at-bats, and contact,” he said. “He can beat you so many ways driving the ball, chuting balls the other way. He plays really solid defense and can steal bases as well. He is a really complete player.”

Mayor of Starkville

There have been plenty of athletes in Mangum family. John played under Ray Perkins and Bill Curry at Alabama before nine seasons with the Bears. Kris Mangum, John’s brother, began his college career at Alabama before transferring to Ole Miss. He caught 151 passes in 10 seasons as a tight end with the Carolina Panthers prior to embarking on a successful banking career in the Magnolia State. Their father, John Sr., played at Ole Miss and Southern Miss before two seasons as a defensive lineman with the Boston Patriots of the AFL.

“I grew up ‘Bama, committed to ‘Bama my ninth-grade year and flipped to Mississippi State a year later,” said Mangum, whose sister Abbey, is on the dance team at MSU and another sister, Bailey, graduated from the school. “With my dad having gone to ‘Bama, mom Southern Miss, uncle Ole Miss, grandfather Southern Miss, I was the first one to go to Mississippi State. I didn’t want to leave Mississippi to play college baseball. I wanted to stay home and play with some buddies of mine.”

Dubbed the ‘Mayor of Starkville’ by former Bulldogs teammate and Tigers farmhand Jacob Robson for seemingly knowing everyone in and around campus, Mangum played four years (2016-19) at Mississippi State and is the SEC’s all-time hits leader (383) while ranking fourth in NCAA history. Pretty good for a guy who was not drafted out of high school. Mangum was selected by the Yankees (30^th round) following his sophomore season and by the Mets (32^nd round) after his junior year – the draft has been 20 rounds since 2021 – and chose to return to Mississippi State both time.

“I understood why I was not drafted out of high school,” he said. “I was undersized, didn’t have power, slapped the ball around the yard.”

Taking advantage of opportunity

After hitting .358 as a senior, the Mets came calling again, in the fourth round and 118^th overall. The 6-foot-1 and 190-poind Mangum began his professional career in summer 2019 with Class-A Brooklyn only to have what would have been his first full season of professional ball wiped out by the pandemic the following year. Finally, in 2021 and at age 25, Mangum has an opportunity to progress up the chain.

Mangum reached Triple-A Syracuse at the back end of the 2022 season. He was dealt to Miami that winter and played all of 2023 with the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville. Yet another winter brought another trade when he was sent to the Rays and spent the 2024 campaign at Triple-A Durham where he hit .317 with 20 stolen bases in 104 games. When Josh Lowe strained an oblique Opening Day against the Rockies, it was Mangum who was summoned to Tampa.

Healthy once again, Mangum picked up where he left off. He is hitting .303 and is 10-for-10 in stolen bases on a team that has won 12 of 15 through June 5.

“After being gone for a month, I was happy to be back in the clubhouse and super excited with how the team has been playing,” he said. “We have said since day one of spring training that we have guys that can hit, guys that can pitch, guys that can defend and we have guys that can steal bases. If you do those things well, you are going to win a lot of ballgames.”