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Jake Mangum, former Mississippi State star, delivers 4-hit outing in 2nd MLB game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Jake Mangum is finally getting his shot at Major League Baseball, and the former Mississippi State star is off to a strong start with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mangum was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 2019 MLB Draft after wrapping up his career with the Bulldogs as a program and SEC baseball record holder. Unfortunately, he bounced around the minors for 6 years.
Mangum was sent to AAA coming out of spring training again this year, but was called up quickly by the Tampa Bay Rays just a few games into the season. After going 0-for-3 in his first career start on Sunday, Mangum finally had a breakout on Monday.
Getting the start in right field, Mangum went 4-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and 2 RBI, including a double. Tampa Bay beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1, in that game to move to 3-1 on the young season.
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After the game, Mangum addressed his first career hit and what he was thinking during the process:
“Well, really, the fact that it was a 6-hole single,” cracked Mangum with a chuckle. “That’s really produced a lot of hits for me there over my whole life, so that was really funny. But it was really cool for me. My high school guy was Adam Frazier watching him play at Mississippi State. Just to be able to take the field against him, that was awesome for me.”
While at Mississippi State, Mangum rewrote the program and SEC record books with 383 career hits. That mark is also 4th all-time in NCAA baseball history. He was also the first MSU player ever with multiple 100-hit seasons.
It’s still too early to tell if Mangum will be a staple for the Rays this season, but he’s making the most of his moment in the big leagues!
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
