By: Katie Sellers

June 8th, 2019 is not an evening at the ballpark that Mississippi State fans will soon forget. Or anyone else that even halfway keeps up with the Bulldog athletics. It’s no secret that maroon and white baseball has surely become a treasure for bulldog fans across the nation. Mississippi State University does baseball right, and that is a statement very few would disagree with.

The Bulldogs possessed a lot of magic in the College World Series run they had in the 2018 season. Some of the magic being of course the two MacNamee walk-off homers to send the dawgs to Omaha – one in the Florida State regional and one in the Vanderbilt super regional.

Many credit the incredible 2018 baseball season, a season that began with the coach resigning after only 3 games into the season, to none other than Jake Mangum. The guy that just got drafted in the 4th round to the New York Mets. The guy that is the SEC hits record holder. The guy that always seems to make the clutch hit to get runners home, or presents supernatural abilities in the outfield to rob potential grand-slams (yeah, that happened in the 2019 Starkville super regional).

Mississippi State baseball is no stranger to unimaginable plays, hits, or games. June 9, 2019 was another one of these otherworldly experiences.

Mississippi State was leading the series against Stanford 1-0. Best out of 3 makes it to Omaha. Dustin Skelton’s 3-run triple in the third inning completely shifted the momentum in the bulldogs’ favor. Peyton Plumlee had an exceptional night tossing 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 92 pitches-55 strikes. After allowing a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning, Plumlee did not allow another hit until the seventh. 

The dawgs were there to play, win, and make a statement.

11,597 of their biggest supporters were there to certainly provide the home field advantage and the atmosphere necessary to ensure State was going to get back-to-back College World Series appearances. “That’s how it is, you fall in love with this team,” said Plumlee on how his standing ovation felt after his last ever game in The Dude. “You fall in love with the university. You fall in love with all the fans and the amount of support they bring to us.” 

Mangum and MacNamee -two fan-favorites for their career at MSU- both had at-bats in the top of the 9th. The atmosphere at Dudy Noble Field was electric all night long (all series long, all season long) but nothing compared to this 9th inning. Jake Mangum was up first. It should be noted that his first ever hit in a Mississippi State uniform was a single up the six hole. Care to guess what his last ever hit in Dudy Noble was? Jake took off his helmet and blew a kiss to the ecstatic crowd while standing on first base. The story could not have been written any sweeter.

Big-hit-Mac wanted in on some of that action. The senior, un-drafted, stepped into the batter’s box and drew a cross in the dirt with his bat, a routine he does at every at-bat. With Jordan Westburg and Jake Mangum on base, the anticipating crowd would have been satisfied with a single to load the bases. Elijah MacNamee decided to give the spectators a show. And a chill along with a huge moment of disbelief. Fans of Mississippi State baseball already knew the senior was playing with a chip on his shoulder, after all he was not one of the 1,200 kids to hear his name called during the MLB draft.

Elijah MacNamee swings and hits a no-doubter, 3 run BOMB into the left field lounge.

Making the game now 8-1. That 11,597 fans mentioned before were quickly on their feet, they jumped, they screamed, they rang those coveted cowbells, they high-fived, hugged, screamed some more and jumped some more. To say the crowd went exuberant is an understatement. In that moment, every fan there saw the heart of Mississippi State baseball. The love, the determination, the hard work, the excellence that Bulldog baseball represents was the most evident in that very moment. State was going to Omaha, again.

The Mississippi State bulldogs set goals for themselves after their season fell short of the championship in 2018. They promised their fans they would be back to the College World Series. These boys have done what a lot of people thought they could not do. They proved the doubters wrong, punched their ticket to Omaha and did so with an exclamation mark and assertion.

Jake Mangum summed up like this, “If you think I could put that into words, you’re crazy. You can’t write it any better.”

Coach Lemonis tweeted after the game, “What a night! The relationship between our fans and our players is something I have never seen. The 9th inning doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country. Omaha get ready because we are coming and we are bringing a bunch of our friends.”

The College World Series is approaching quickly and who’s to say that Mississippi State won’t be dripping with that magical charisma they seem to bring everywhere they go? Get ready, Omaha. Here come the dawgs.

By: Katie Sellers

In 2017, the clutch hitting was just beginning for the pitcher-turned-centerfielder for Mississippi State. Fans knew he was special and frequent spectators at The Dude kept their eye on the kid from Jackson Prep. With a .324 batting average and a eye-catching 90 hits for the future SEC Hits King, he caught the attention of MLB scouts. Jake Mangum was drafted by the Yankees in the 30th round of the 2017 draft. He opted to stay in StarkVegas. 

In the 2018 season, Mangum was even more efficient at the plate. With a batting average of .351, an on base percentage of .434 (!!!) and a whopping 101 hits, not to mention leading his team to the CWS and showing out in Omaha, Mangum heard his name at the MLB draft again. The New York Mets offered the outfielder in the 32nd round. He denied. 

He had goals left to accomplish wearing the M over S. “I am thankful to return to MSU for my 4th and final season. But first, we have unfinished business in 2018.” posted Jake Mangum, on twitter June 2018.

• 

Staying for your senior season is a bit unusual in the baseball world. Critics would argue that Mangum, and all other senior baseball players, lose time, energy, and effort that could have been devoted to the organization that drafted them in the year they chose to stay in school. After all, hearing your name during the MLB draft is the dream, right? Why waste time? 

Critics are wrong. 

The average single A minor league baseball player makes $1300/month. The further down in the draft a prospect goes, the longer they spend in single-A league. Making approximately $8.125 an hour. There’s a reason none of the slot values passed the 10th round are even mentioned when media outlets are posting which MLB organization drafted which player. Also, on average, it takes 4-6 years in the minors before even being considered to be called up to the majors. 

Why would these kids want to rush into that? Staying in school for another year and developing as a player — and men — could be the mature decision to make. Obviously, it will effect every aspect of their lives so it is not something to rush into or take lightly. Also, it should be noted that approximately 2/3 of the players drafted in the FIRST round will make it to the big leagues. 

10% of drafted minor league players will make it to playing in the majors. 

10. Percent. 

Mangum was not the only player that proved the theory of participating in his senior baseball season to be beneficial in the drafting process. Ethan Small, the lanky lefty on the same Mississippi State squad, did the same thing. The redshirt junior was drafted in 2018 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 26th round after posting a solid 2.94 ERA in 15 starts and leading the MSU pitching staff with 107 strikeouts.

Small decided to stay in the maroon and white.

In 2019, Ethan Small was drafted as the only first rounder from Mississippi State, 28th overall. The first Bulldog to go in the first round since triple crown winner Brent Rooker in 2017.

Ethan Small’s draft slot improved from the 26th round, to the 1st. His first round draft slot was valued at $2,493,900. So, being patient and developing as a player for that 4th year of school proved to be advantageous – in a lot of ways – for this bulldog as well.

But, back to the Mayor. Mangum’s statistics were exceptional yet again in the 2019 season. A .357 batting average, 100 hits (so far) — and the only player in Mississippi State history to record back-to-back 100 hit seasons. For his career at MSU, he has a .365 batting average, .419 on base percentage, and has an exceptional .976 career fielding percentage with only 14 errors in 4 seasons.

Mangum has been described as a “mutant” at the plate, by teammate Tanner Allen. He is the obvious leader on and off the field and will be an asset at the plate, in the outfield, and in the dugout at the next level of baseball.

June 4th, 2019. Mangum’s worth has finally been recognized. The New York Mets drafted the SEC hits record holder in the 4th round- a 28 round jump compared to last year’s draft spot. The value for this MLB draft slot is $487,900. Mangum played his cards right and worked a little bit harder than a lot of the other guys.

He is certainly going to be rewarded for the way he approached his MLB career and for choosing to spend his senior season in Starkville. Mangum will be playing for the same organization that also drafted Antoine Duplantis – LSU outfielder that is the closest player to breaking Mangum’s hit record – and Tim Tebow, current minor league player and former football star. SEC fans everywhere would love to see that electric combination in the outfield one day even if it is for New York.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton