ARLINGTON, Texas – Mississippi State baseball fans remember Jake Mangum’s four seasons as a Bulldog for the distinguished list of accomplishments “The Mayor of Starkville” earned on the diamond.
Mangum departed as the school’s career hits leader, the first two-time winner of the Ferriss Trophy as the state’s top college player, and a three-time first-team All-SEC selection. However, if one thing has defined his early professional career, which started when the Mets drafted him in the fourth round in 2019, it’s change.
Mangum, 30, has already been traded three times, going from the Mets to the Marlins in December 2022, from the Marlins to the Rays in December 2023, and from the Rays to the Pirates in December 2025. He now calls Pittsburgh home and is ecstatic to be a Pirate.
“Yeah, I’m helping out any way I can. Doing my best and trying to win some ballgames,” Mangum said during a road series in Texas in late April. “We got a good team, so hopefully we can keep doing that. (I love) how much the fans rally behind us (in Pittsburgh). They’re wearing black and gold everywhere, man. It’s a sports town that really cares about their teams, and they’re supporting us great.”
Mangum is hitting .294 with a .690 OPS through his first 19 games with Pittsburgh, but the ex-Bulldog is already known for several things with his new employer. For one, he went viral during a home game last weekend against his former team, the Rays, when he threw a ball into the stands to a young fan wearing his jersey. The young fan then gave the ball to his sister, and a heartwarming hug ensued.
The State product also is responsible for one of the Pirates’ newest dugout celebrations involving an orange traffic cone. The cone has gone viral with Pittsburgh fans often bringing their own cones to the stadium and hoisting them when the Pirates do something great, even appearing on shirts, which are a hot seller.
“Yeah, the way clubbie from the Reds had the traffic cone. He gave it to me and we’re running with it,” Mangum said. “It’s crazy (to see it on T-shirts now).”
However, the cone isn’t the Pirates’ only celebratory prop. Any member of the roster hitting a homer then puts on a welding mask upon returning to the dugout and wears it for a round of celebratory high fives with his teammates.
‘Glue guy’
Don Kelly, a former Pirates player and Pennsylvania native, is in his first full season managing the club after taking over on an interim basis last season. And even though Kelly has only known Mangum for a short time, he’s impressed with how quickly he’s fit in as one of the newest Pirates.
“(He brings) a lot (to the room). He’s a connector, man,” Kelly said. “He’s a glue guy. He brings the energy and you see it every single day. He has great at-bats, plays good defense, runs the bases hard. He’s a Pittsburgh-type ballplayer, that’s for sure.”
And Mangum feels that as a former player who knows all about the grind of being a big leaguer, Kelly is a great advocate for him and his teammates as a first-time manager.
“He’s great. Super personable, he’s done this, he’s been here,” Mangum said. “He knows what we’re going through, and he knows how to relate to us and communicate with us very well.”
That weekend series against the Rays was Mangum’s first time playing against Tampa Bay since being traded to Pittsburgh last offseason. Mangum hit .296 with 40 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 118 games with the Rays last season and will always be grateful for the organization which gave him his first shot in the big leagues in a season where Tampa Bay called a minor league stadium home due to their normal home venue, Tropicana Field, being ravaged by a hurricane.
“Yeah, as a rookie, played a lot, played well. It was a really cool first experience in the big leagues, so I’m happy about that,” Mangum said of his time as a Ray. “Just playing baseball (even being in a minor league stadium), it’s the same game. It was a good spot. It’s where I debuted, so I have fond memories of it.”
And Mangum realizes that the moment he debuted with the Rays, he immediately became part of another State-related fraternity – Bulldogs who reached the big leagues.
“Everybody that went before us and played at Mississippi State laid the groundwork, and we came to continue to help make it better. A lot of good people have played there,” he said. “They work hard and are talented. You mix those and good things happen.
“It’s great (to see where State baseball is right now). I think (Brian) O’Connor has got a great thing going. Hopefully, they can make a run. I’m excited to see where O’Connor can take us.”
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.
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