TAMPA -- Jake Mangum had just come off the field on Friday at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Va., when Triple-A Durham manager Morgan Ensberg called a team meeting in the visiting clubhouse. Batting practice was over, and it was nearly time for Durham¡¯s season opener.
Ensberg gave a speech that sounded a little familiar to Mangum, who spent all of last season in Durham. As he was wrapping up, Ensberg delivered the words Mangum has been waiting his entire life to hear: ¡°Jake Mangum, you¡¯re going to the big leagues.¡±
¡°Heartbeat went up a lot. It was special, man,¡± Mangum said Saturday morning. ¡°Whenever you hear your name called, it¡¯s indescribable.¡±
The Rays recalled Mangum from Triple-A before Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Rockies to take the spot of outfielder Josh Lowe, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. And it was only appropriate that, given Mangum¡¯s extended journey to the Majors, the 29-year-old outfielder had to travel a long way to get to George M. Steinbrenner Field.
With the Bulls only staying two nights in Norfolk, Mangum said he packed ¡°as light as I could possibly pack¡± for the three-game series. If he was going to the big leagues, he needed to go back to Durham.
One problem: That¡¯s a three-hour drive, and he didn¡¯t have a car. So, he called an Uber for the roughly 190-mile trip.
¡°You get a call to go to the big leagues,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said, ¡°you¡¯re going to find whatever the hell way you can to get there.¡±
Between calling his parents and family and friends and getting flooded with text messages, Mangum had a little time to get to know his driver.
¡°Her name was Amy,¡± Mangum said, ¡°and Amy¡¯s an angel.¡±
He arrived in Durham around 11 p.m., packed and got a few hours of sleep before taking an early flight to Tampa.
¡°It¡¯s been a long 24 hours, but really special,¡± he said.
Especially considering how long he¡¯s waited to get that call.
After spending four years at Mississippi State, where he became a local legend known as ¡°The Mayor of Starkville,¡± Mangum didn¡¯t make his full-season debut in the Mets system until he was 25 years old in 2021. During his long ride Friday night, he thought back to when he started that season in Asheville, N.C., and called home saying, ¡°Dad, if I don¡¯t hit right now, I¡¯m going to be out of baseball very quickly.¡±
He quickly reached Triple-A, getting there in 2022 and playing a full season at that level in ¡®23. And he did nothing but perform well throughout his time at the highest level of the Minors, batting .310/.353/.438 in 256 Triple-A games.
He was traded in back-to-back offseasons from the Mets to the Marlins to the Rays, both times as the player to be named later, and found a perfect fit with Tampa Bay. Last season, he led the International League with a .317 batting average and stole 20 bases in 104 games.
¡°Mangum does a lot of things that can help you win a game. It¡¯s good defense. It¡¯s good baserunning. And he gives a really quality at-bat,¡± Cash said. ¡°We¡¯ve seen that for two springs in a row now. Very technical mind, the way he talks, thinks, works, everything. Pumped for him.¡±
But as he watched dozens of teammates come and go, his call never came.
Until Friday night.
¡°It was worth it,¡± Mangum said.
Mangum immediately FaceTimed his parents, Stacy and John, and kept his emotions in check until he saw his mom crying. They were celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary, and his news was a gift. He called his grandfather, also named John, and told him, ¡°We did it.¡±
He got a call from Cash only a few minutes after Kameron Misner¡¯s walk-off homer sealed the Rays¡¯ Opening Day victory.
¡°I couldn¡¯t even get a word out,¡± Cash said. ¡°He was yelling on the phone about how excited he was for Misner.¡±
Mangum didn't play Saturday but still had around 20 family members and friends in attendance, all awaiting his MLB debut. Many of them drove through the night from their home in Mississippi to make it. His parents made it to their Tampa hotel at 8 a.m.
They weren¡¯t going to miss this.
¡°My pro ball journey started a little late, but my journey to this point ¨C I couldn¡¯t have scripted it any better,¡± Mangum said. ¡°Just thankful to be where I¡¯m at right now, thank God. Just really excited to get going.¡±