PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It became a viral video of Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum throwing a ball into the stands Sunday afternoon during the Bucs-Tampa Bay game. A boy, elementary-school aged, caught the ball with his glove for his younger sister and she immediately gave him a long bear hug. I talked to Mangum after and it’s really special how he broke down what happened.
“What I saw, in-between innings I’ll be throwing balls in the stands,” Mangum told 93.7 The Fan. “Most of the time now they are catching it with (traffic) cones. That’s pretty funny. But that time I saw the little girl doing this (pointing to the name on the back of her white Pirates jersey).”
“That was my jersey!”
“I’m a new player here, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen my jersey in the stadium. That was pretty cool.”
Mangum said he pointed at her and said he was throwing it to her. She was on the second deck in left field at PNC Park and her brother made a nice catch to snag it. And immediately the joyous hug.
“I knew that they were all related because when they caught it you just saw the Dad going like ‘yes, yes, yes’. That was awesome. Moments like that, stuff like that. It’s what it’s all about.”
The 30-year-old said it meant even more to him because he has two younger sisters that he is still very close with.
“Seeing that, taking them to the ballgame, bringing their gloves, catching a ball,” Mangum told 93.7 The Fan. “Stuff like that is how we all as professional baseball players fell in love with the game."
Mangum isn’t sure he agrees that baseball players are entertainers as many say about professional athletes. He just wants to play the game the right way and respect the fans.
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“I hope people come to the game and really enjoy watching us play baseball because we love to play it,” Mangum said. “We love the clubhouse. It’s a really good thing going in Pittsburgh. Everyone keep coming to the games, hopefully we keep making y’all proud.”
What Mangum said about a cool, special interaction
What Mangum said about a cool, special interaction
