Pirates' Jake Mangum Goes Viral for Heartwarming Moment With Young Fan

Sometimes it’s difficult to move to a new city after being traded.

Jake Mangum has quickly adopted Pittsburgh as his home since being traded over from the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason, and on Sunday, he wanted to share some of that love with the fans.

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The Pirates and Mangum faced his former team, the Rays, on Sunday and captured the win, but not before Mangum made the day of a young fan who wanted to see her favorite player.

During the contest, Mangum caught the eye of a girl in the crowd with her brother, proudly wearing her Pirates jersey with Mangum’s number and name on the back.

The outfielder didn’t waste any time making her wait, as while she waved to say hello to her favorite player, Mangum rocketed a ball into the stands for her.

Her brother, wearing a Team USA World Baseball Classic jersey, caught the ball and quickly handed it to his sister, who embraced him as Mangum watched on.

After the game, the Pirates outfielder opened up about what that moment meant to him.

“I saw the little girl [point to her back], and it was my jersey,” he said. “I’m a new player here, and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen my jersey in the stadium. It was pretty cool. … You see her dad celebrating. It was awesome.”

The Pirates have been one of the positive stories of the season, holding a 13-9 record in a difficult NL Central division where all the teams have winning records after the first three weeks of the campaign.

Mangum and Pittsburgh will hope to continue their winning ways on Tuesday when they open a series on the road against the Texas Rangers.

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 7:53 PM.