In the Tampa Bay Rays Opening Weekend series against the Colorado Rockies in Tampa, outfielder Jake Mangum made his Rays and MLB debut. After his first appearance on Sunday against the Rockies, the outfielder started on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 4‑for‑4 at the plate with 2 RBI, two stolen bases, and one run as the Rays won 6‑1.
The newest Tampa Bay Ray, Jake Mangum is, simply put, the kind of guy you want on your team.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s not just because he’s a switch hitter—though going 2‑for‑2 from both sides of the plate in his second MLB start was pretty impressive. It’s not just because he’s a speedy outfielder and baserunner—though that certainly helps. It’s not even because of his ability to manufacture hits and get on base, although he holds a few records in those categories.
You want him on your team for the way he lifts up his teammates, for the energy he brings to the field, and for the spark he adds not only to the lineup but to the locker room. He’s a natural leader and an overwhelmingly positive voice in the clubhouse.
His response on Tuesday night to his first hit as a major leaguer, at 29 years old, shows why he’s a favorite in the stands and in the dugout alike – wild passion, animated celebration, and absolute elation at having produced for his team. He cheered for his club first, as teammate Junior Caminero made sure to scoop and save the memorable ball. Then, he pointed to his friends and family in the stands, yelling and following the game action all in the same moment.
And here’s the thing about Jake – all that passion wasn’t because it was his first hit in the big leagues. Not entirely, anyway. He’s that passionate every time he hits the ball. Every time he chases down a line drive into the outfield. Every time one of his teammates steps up to the plate and he cheers them on from the dugout.
Watch him, if you can, and you’ll see it from the second he walks into the team facility through the second he walks out. He once even had a parked team bus rocking back and forth on its wheels thanks to leading the pre-game, players-only pep talk at a road game.
Freshman phenom to rookie sensation
I’ve known Jake since 2016, when he was a freshman outfielder for that year’s eventual SEC Champion Mississippi State Bulldogs, and I was a 28-year-old reporter covering the team. Watching him that first season, I didn’t think there was a chance he would stick around for all four years of college, what with the obvious talent and Freshman All-American honors. That kid, I thought, is going to be a Major Leaguer in short time.
The scouts, it seemed, didn’t always see it the same way, as Jake stuck around all four years of college after disappointing draft selections, and then toiled for the better part of a decade in the minors.
But nine years later, that “kid” is a full-grown man, and after years of both setting records and recording setbacks, he’s finally done what he and many others had seen coming for years. He made it to The Show, to The Bigs, to a spot in the starting lineup with the Tampa Bay Rays.
While he’s grown physically, Jake truthfully looked much the same on opening weekend in the MLB as he did as a freshman in college: like he belonged on the field. He looked the same way in Durham last year, leading the league in hitting as he patiently waited for his chance. No moment has ever been too big for him. In fact, the bigger the moment, the bigger he tends to come up.
At the end of the year as a junior at MSU, with the season on the line and playing with an interim head coach, Jake once led the way to the Bulldogs pulling off five straight elimination game wins, advancing from the losers bracket of an NCAA Regional all the way to the College World Series and a National Championship Game appearance in Omaha.
He was the heart and soul of that team, though then as now, he deflected any praise to his teammates. Whether he’s had the C by his name or not, he’s always spoken like a team captain. He’s played like one, too, of course.
“The Mayor” welcomes a new city
On Monday, the switch-hitting, base-stealing, run-scoring debutant made abundantly clear what many have seen for years: he looks like he belongs. He carries himself like a professional, not a rookie.
Which is no surprise. Jake’s father, John, was a nine-year NFL veteran, playing cornerback for the Chicago Bears following his college career at the University of Alabama. Jake was raised by a professional. Meanwhile, his mother Stacy is one of the kindest, most supportive, cheerleader-of-a-mom presences a kid could have in his life. All those traits combined to make Jake the proverbial No. 15 on the field and No. 1 in your hearts – a passionate, supportive leader who belongs on the field, and who you can’t help rooting for.
It’s the personality that eventually led to his nickname at MSU as The Mayor. He didn’t get that nickname because he set the Southeastern Conference all-time hits record (though, again, it doesn’t hurt).
He got it for being one of the most energetic and animated players on the field and in the dugout; for saying all the right – and genuine – things in every interview; for bragging on his college and its small town to national audiences; by showing up to support every other athletic team on campus and live tweeting his emotions through it all, like so many of the other State fans who packed the baseball stadium to see him play every spring.
Jake is, in fact, on first-name terms with the actual Mayor of Starkville, Lynn Spruill, though she’s always been happy to share the title with him. Who wouldn’t be? (We’ll wait to see if Tampa’s Jane Castor or St. Pete’s Ken Welch invite Jake to their next Mayor’s meeting.)
Clanga Nation: Cowbells collide in Tampa Bay
I’ll end this introduction to the newest Ray with a bit of team history, both from Jake’s college team and his new professional home.
Nearly 100 years ago, Mississippi State, an agricultural school, was playing a football game against its rival, Ole Miss. The visiting Rebels had run up a sizable lead on the home team, but then the game was paused when a cow from a nearby pasture wandered onto the field.
After a bit of laughter and wrangling, the game resumed, with the cow watching from the sideline. Following the interruption, MSU mounted a comeback for the ages, defeating their bitter in-state rivals. For a while, the school brought the cow back to every game for good luck. Eventually, bringing the entire cow became too difficult, so they just brought the cow’s bell instead.
Today, you’ll hear thousands of cowbells clanging in unison at any MSU football or baseball game. They were the chorus of Jake’s time in Starkville.
Stu Sternberg, the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, grew up in Brooklyn where, before his time, the Brooklyn Dodgers created a legend of their own with the cowbell. As chronicled by Creative Loafing, one passionate fan brought her loud, metal cowbell to every game in the 1940s, becoming a favorite among the players on the team as she rang it from the outfield bleachers.
Once, she actually convinced the Dodgers’ manager to pull the struggling starting pitcher and bring in a reliever, by virtue of slipping a note to the centerfielder. The Dodgers went on to win the game, cementing the legacy of yet another clanging, handheld talisman.
So, when Sternberg bought the Rays, he turned to history and decided to revive the cowbell. If nothing else, he thought, it would help drown out the visiting Sox and Yankees fans. The fans ate it up, and the tradition has stuck, with handheld cowbells seen throughout the stadium at every game.
Nine years ago, freshman outfielder Jake Mangum likely didn’t think it would take this long to get here. But the same way he still looks at home in a big moment, it still sounds like home when he steps onto the field. The clanging never stopped.
He probably won’t give up any of his maroon and white cowbells, but surely someone can find him a blue and yellow version to add to the collection.
