PIRATES

I asked Jake Mangum about his level of production as a 29-year-old rookie in 2025 and how it affected his level of confidence heading into his first season with the Pirates. 

He said he learned a lot from the experience, particularly regarding the significant difference between playing in the minor leagues and the majors. 

"My first full season of professional baseball was at the age of 25. I got drafted at 23 years old out of Mississippi State. My 24-year-old year was COVID, so my 25-year-old year was my first year," Mangum explained. "I get to Triple-A after one year. So I got to Triple-A quick, and I was in Triple-A for two and a half years. So first full season was 25 years old, debuted at 29. And what I quickly realized is after two and a half years in Triple-A, hitting extremely well, I felt like I deserved to get called up earlier than I did but that's not how this game works. When you're in Triple-A for that long, hitting whatever it was, I think .315 through two and a half years, you just keep saying, 'Man, the jump can't be that big. It just can't be that big. Like, come on. Like, give me a shot.' But then you get up there this year and I quickly realized the jump is the biggest jump in the game. There is no jump like it. And throughout the year, there was so much I learned that I didn't learn in the minor leagues that now, after a full year of time in the big leagues, this offseason was one of those the first offseasons that's like, now I'm training with the idea of I know what's coming. The other offseasons I've had have been just like, 'Alright, the move to the big leagues is coming,' and as naive as I was, I was like, 'It can't be that big. It's going to be the same game.' And yes, it is the same game of baseball, but there's just things you need to know, and the only way to know them is to do it. That's kind of what I took away from this year, but the experiences I had this year are helping tremendously, I could say."