Former NFL Player’s Son Jake Mangum Shines in MLB Debut

In his first MLB start at Steinbrenner Field, Jake Mangum put on a show. He smacked four hits and stole two bases. By chance, this happened just across from Raymond James Stadium, where his dad played his final NFL game 25 years ago.

"My last game was at the football stadium, and then Jake's first game was right across the street in Tampa. It's definitely kind of ironic," said John Mangum to the Tampa Bay Times.

After Josh Lowe's oblique injury on March 28, the Rays called up Mangum. His first game was quiet: no hits in three tries with a walk. But the next day? Pure magic: four hits in four at-bats.

Before making it big, he spent five tough years in the minors. His bat stayed hot through it all. Last year, while switching between the Mets, Marlins, and Rays, he won the International League batting title.

"He's never going to give away the at-bat," said Rays pitcher Shane Baz. "He's never going to not hustle. You love playing with guys like that."

Sports run in his blood. His dad spent nine years stopping passes for the Chicago Bears. Uncle Kris played ten seasons with Carolina. Even his grandpa suited up for two years with the AFL Patriots.

Yet baseball won his heart early. "He did come from a football family, and he played up until his ninth-grade year, but it wasn't just something he loved doing," his dad explained. "He just wanted to play baseball all the time."

During spring training 2024, Rays manager Kevin Cash noticed something special in the Miami transfer. "He's confident, certainly in the best possible way in his ability," Cash said.

At Mississippi State, they called him the "Mayor of Starkville." He lived and breathed Bulldogs sports. When news broke of his MLB shot, texts and calls poured in from every stop along his baseball path.

Storm damage forced the Rays to play at Steinbrenner Field instead of Tropicana Field. This twist of fate links Jake's start to where a Mike Alstott hit ended John Mangum's NFL run in 1998.