Jake Mangum is bringing a childhood obsession onto the biggest stage of his season.
For Players’ Weekend at Dodger Stadium, the Pirates outfielder is set to use three custom bats built around Pokémon - a nod to the cards and Game Boy games he grew up with in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Mangum worked with Warstic to design bats inspired by Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise, turning a longtime hobby into the centerpiece of his equipment this weekend against the Dodgers.
“It’s something that I’ve always been into,” Mangum said. “I’ve got the three starter cards.
I sent Warstic the cards and then they designed the bats. They did a great job.
Warstic always does a great job. Their art department is insane, they crushed it as always.”
The bats were a conversation piece in the Pirates clubhouse before Friday’s series opener, even in a Players’ Weekend full of personal touches. Spencer Horwitz is using his gear to highlight mental health awareness.
Jared Triolo’s bats feature trees. Nick Gonzales put “John Wick” on his cleats, Jacob Gonzalez leaned into anime, and Brandon Lowe chose farming as his theme.
“I think it’s great that they get to let their personalities come out,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said, though he admitted he was stumped when asked what he would have put on his bats as a player.
Mangum plans to use one of the Pokémon bats in each game of the series, hoping they survive the weekend intact. After that, he’ll put them on display at home alongside the rest of his collection.
“I was born the same year [Pokémon] came out,” he said. “When I was a kid, I played the original Game Boy games.
In 2016 I started playing Pokémon Go. Got back into the cards about a year ago.
It’s been fun.”
That recent return to the cards is only part of the story. Mangum said he’s an avid Pokémon Go player and showed off his 13 four-star Pokémon, which he called “perfect” because they have the highest possible ratings in attack, defense and stamina. As a Major Leaguer, he uses the travel that comes with the job to catch and train Pokémon in cities around the country.
When asked to pick a favorite, he didn’t exactly narrow it down cleanly.
“That’s tough,” Mangum said. “Right now, it’s Porygon Z. Right now Porygon 2 but I’ll evolve it into Porygon Z.”
Mangum isn’t alone in the game’s orbit, either. Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández became deeply into his collection during injury rehab this season and has gone by “PoKikémon” online. Brewers prospect Jacob Misiorowski is another collector with a knack for rare pulls, and stars such as Chris Sale and Mike Trout have also shown off their own fandom.
For Mangum, though, the whole thing is about keeping the sport in perspective.
“At one point we’re all just kids playing this game, for the love of the game,” he said. “Now that we’re older and this is our job, it still is a game we love and [Players’ Weekend] is a good reminder.”
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