Jake Mangum has a reputation for getting hits. He finished his college career as the all-time hits leader at Mississippi State and the SEC with 383 hits, which ranked fourth in NCAA history.
A fourth-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2019, Mangum lost his first full professional season to the covid-19 pandemic and spent four-plus years in the minors before being promoted to the Tampa Bay Rays last year, when he batted .296/.330/.368 with 18 doubles, three home runs, 40 RBIs, 37 runs scored and 27 stolen bases.
Using a contact approach and his sprint speed, Mangum tied with Philadelphia shortstop Trea Turner for the MLB lead with 32 infield hits last season. Mangum was part of a package that included second baseman Brandon Lowe and left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team trade involving the Rays that sent pitcher Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros.
Entering Friday, the 30-year-old switch hitter was batting .296/.345/.349 with five doubles, a home run, 12 RBIs, 20 runs scored and 13 stolen bases in 55 games for the Pirates. With Oneil Cruz on the injured list with a fractured left hand, Mangum has started 10 games in center field and has hit .308 (12 for 39) with a .325 on-base percentage, two doubles and three RBIs.
Mangum spoke with TribLive Pirates beat writer Kevin Gorman about the challenges of replacing Cruz in the lineup, playing center field at PNC Park and helping Bryan Reynolds rob home runs.
With Cruz on the injured list, how important is it to make the most of your extended opportunity in center field?
I wouldn’t put any added pressure or anything on it. Center field, that’s my home spot, where I’ve played my whole life. First off, it stinks we’ve lost Cruz. He’s been so big for us. His bat is one of the best bats in the league. I’m going to do all I can to help us win baseball games.
You asked if it was important for me? No added pressure. Our roles as baseball players is to do our best whenever our name’s called, at whatever position and spot in the lineup, play well. If you do that, you’ll get to hang out in the big leagues for a while. So, no added pressure or anything. If I just continue to play good baseball, I feel like I’m going to help the team win out there — and that’s what I plan to do.
Center has been your natural position, but you haven’t played there as much in the majors as you have the corners.
I would say mostly left, if I had to guess. Center field, that’s my home spot, for sure. I’m excited to get out there and play it.
How much of an adjustment is it for you, as far as making the calls and serving as the captain of the outfield?
With Tampa last year, never being a prospect or anything, it took me a while to get up here. The only reason I got called up was because our right fielder went down with an injury. So, I came up and played right field and played well. Our left fielder went down and our right fielder came back, so I moved to left. Then it was center field. Our center fielder went down and I moved to center. Last year, my debut rookie year was just wherever they needed me. That’s where I understand that I bring the most value is just being able to switch-hit and play all three. I don’t care, really, where I am. You never know where the ball is going to be hit. I could be in center field and have zero balls hit to me and 10 balls hit to left. You just want to make the play when the ball is presented to you, really.
Against the Dodgers, you had both an error and a sliding catch. How difficult were both plays?
The slide was probably unnecessary. Sometimes, it makes it easier to catch it. The error, I’ve had two errors in my major league career. That stinks. One I lost in the sun. I quickly realized that center field here at 6:40 (p.m. start times), those first three innings is brutal. But I can do it. I’ve had a few sun balls. The sun has been here thousands of years; it’s not going anywhere.
There’s a lot of ground to cover, but you’re not dealing with the corners or the Clemente Wall. In some ways, is center field easier to play at PNC Park?
I think center field, you get the best reads because typically balls aren’t slicing. If you’re playing left field and a righty hooks a line drive down the line, it ain’t coming straight. That thing is like a curveball out there. Those plays, you don’t get that in center. Any ball hit to center is typically straight. It might carry, it might dive, but you don’t see a whole lot of that. Credit our staff. They’re doing a great job of keeping us where we need to be.
To borrow the “Moneyball” line, do you feel like you’re not going to replace Cruz and what he brings to this team with one player but in the aggregate?
For our whole lineup, one through nine — I know we didn’t get all the big hits we needed to win the series — and I hate silver linings, but we’re going to keep fighting. There ain’t no doubt about it. We showed we’re ain’t rolling over. I know I’m not going to replace 20-30 home runs, but I’m going to give you good at-bat, hit for a high average and hopefully get the OPS up a little bit higher than it was last year.
How much did you appreciate Bryan Reynolds giving you credit for giving him guidance while he was closing in on the wall on one of his home run robberies?
He was pretty fired up about that. He’s a much better defender than he gets credit for. I do believe that. I joke that he is really, really pushing it to be my favorite baseball player of all time. Not to have a man-crush or anything — he’s my teammate, so it might sound weird. Chipper Jones is far and away my No. 1, but there’s something about those switch-hitter Nos. 10, I don’t know what it is. Being around him in the clubhouse and on the field, B-Rey is quickly becoming one of my favorites ever. I’ll definitely look back one day and be really, really thankful I got to spend some time with him.