Wednesday, April 02

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Jake Mangum grew up about two hours outside of Starkville, Miss. When he was in high school, he’d make frequent trips there to see his cousin at Mississippi State University. He got to know people. Some might say he got to know everybody.

Soon enough, everybody got to know him.

Mangum became so widely recognized around campus and so popular that, as a freshman, his upperclassmen teammates dubbed him “The Mayor of Starkville.”

“And it just kind of stuck,” Mangum said, smiling.

As a kid, Mangum’s goal was simply to be a starting outfielder in the SEC. When he accomplished that as a freshman at Mississippi State, he aimed higher. He set out to make it to the Majors.

After being added to the Rays’ 40-man roster in November, following his third straight season at Triple-A, Mangum will likely start the season one call away from achieving that goal. But he’s past the point of putting undue pressure on himself.

“When my name is called to go into a game, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability and give you everything I've got. Everything after that's out of my control,” Mangum said. “Do I hope I'm a big leaguer tomorrow? Absolutely. That's been something I've grinded for for a long time.”

How did Mangum get here, as a living legend in Starkville and a 29-year-old prospect awaiting his chance in Rays camp?

Mangum’s father, John, went to Alabama before spending nine years in the NFL as a defensive back for the Chicago Bears. His uncle, Kris, played at Ole Miss then had a 10-year career as a tight end for the Carolina Panthers. His grandfather, also named John, was a defensive tackle at Southern Mississippi who ended up playing two years in the American Football League.

Having given up the family business of football to pursue baseball after his freshman year of high school, Mangum was committed to Alabama. But he felt called to Mississippi State -- “where God was pulling me to go,” he said. Mangum was an instant contributor, batting .408 as a freshman and .324 as a sophomore.

He loved it, and it loved him back.

“Really cool experience,” he said. “I wouldn't trade it for the world.”

His final two years, he elected to become a walk-on, with his father covering his in-state tuition. He gave up his scholarship (33% as a freshman and 66% as a sophomore, under the old system in which schools divided up 11.7 baseball scholarships) so MSU could use it elsewhere. 

Mangum's decision helped the Bulldogs bring in J.T. Ginn, who landed at Mississippi State even after the Dodgers selected him 30th overall in 2018.

Mangum went on to become the Southeastern Conference’s all-time hits leader during his time at Mississippi State and ranks fourth all-time in NCAA Division I history, with 383 knocks. He led the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the College World Series in 2018 and ‘19.

“He’s probably the most famous face that ever played baseball at Mississippi State. There’s obviously been some great players to come through there,” Ginn, now with the A’s, told MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos. “They call him the Mayor because everybody loves him.

“When I was making the decision whether I wanted to go to school or not, he was a huge part of that. If you know him, you know how much he loves Mississippi State.”

Mangum was drafted by the Yankees in the 30th round in 2017 and by the Mets in the 32nd round in ‘18. He elected to return to school both times, graduated with a degree in business administration, went to the Mets again in the fourth round in ‘19, when he signed for $20,000.

Mangum has followed an unusual path since then. His first full season was canceled by the pandemic. On Dec. 7, 2022, the Mets sent him to the Marlins as the player to be named later in a previous trade. Exactly one year later, he learned the Marlins had flipped him to the Rays -- once again as a PTBNL -- in a deal that sent Vidal Bruján and Calvin Faucher to Miami.

Mangum had a strong spring last year and hit an International League-leading .317 with an .800 OPS for Durham. Thinking a 40-man roster spot was “always out of my reach,” he was pleasantly surprised and extremely grateful when assistant GM Kevin Ibach called him to say he’d been protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

He’s put together another impressive camp this spring, with manager Kevin Cash praising his defense, his intensity, the quality of his at-bats and his stick-to-it mindset.

“Those guys that stick at it, trying to get that opportunity to make their mark in the big leagues, it's easy to root for them,” Cash said. “It's easy to pull for them.”

That’s especially true for those following from Starkville and beyond. For as much as he feels Mississippi State gave him, Mangum continues to give back.

Mangum splits his winters between Starkville and his home in Pearl, Miss. He gets to as many games as he can across all sports. He started hosting a podcast for the athletic department called “State of Mind,” in which he holds casual, longform conversations to learn more about coaches, staff and student athletes. 

He has a standing offer with the program: “If there's anything I can ever do to help.”

“That guy just totally bleeds maroon,” said Mississippi State senior associate athletic director Brandon Langlois. “To devote his time to coming back to Starkville and help us out with anything that we need to grow the brand and push the department forward, it's just awesome to be able to have athletes like that come back and want to still be a part of what we're trying to do here.”

Plenty of people have suggested Mangum’s post-playing career will lead him back there. He said he wants to play until he’s 42 years old, though, so he’s got some time before he’ll start thinking about his second act in some other area of the game.

And he’s got a few things he wants to accomplish before then, starting with a long-awaited call to the Majors.

“I'm really thankful for what my career has been. Just going to keep going,” Mangum said. “I think one day it will happen, no doubt. Good Lord willing, it'll happen sooner than later.”

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