Mikie Mahtook: Making a Difference
Just 25 years old, Mikie Mahtook has made a name for himself on the field.
Starting at Louisiana State University he was an All-American, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the 2011 draft. In his three full seasons in the Rays' minor league system, he's been named an All-Star every year, and earned the Bulls' Most Valuable Player award a season ago.
Then earlier this year Mahtook received the news he was getting called up to Tampa Bay for the first time in his career, and six days later he tallied his first big league hit, a two-run homer off Toronto's Mark Buehrle.
Now he's making a name for himself off the field as well.
This past offseason, the Lafayette, La. native started the Mikie Mahtook Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and prevention of heart disease. When Mahtook was just four years old, his father Mike died at the age of 32 from cardiomyopathy, a disease that enlarged his heart.
"When I got to college my mom and I had talked about doing something to give back, and when I got drafted the talks kind of increased a bit," Mahtook said. "We were trying to find the perfect situation, and it kind of came to me about a year and a half ago. A lot of people are affected by heart disease, and there's not enough people raising awareness and education about it. It's something that really hit home for me, so we decided at the end of last season that's what I wanted to do and it just kind of all fell into place."
Mahtook grew up hearing stories of his father, who played linebacker for LSU and wore number 54. Mikie honors his father every game, writing #54 on each pair of cleats he trots onto the field with.
"Growing up I always heard about how great of an athlete he was and how great of a guy he was and that his number was 54," he said. "So 54 quickly became my lucky number, our family's lucky number and a number I hold close to me.
After Mahtook's father passed away, his mother Mary Ann took over the role of mom and dad to Mikie and his two identical twin sisters, Catherine and Christina. The twins, who were two when their father died, later followed in their brother's and father's footsteps to LSU.
"When you're young and you're active and involved in a bunch of different things your schedules are pretty hectic for parents," Mahtook said. "Normally they team up; one will take one kid somewhere and the other will take the other kid somewhere else, but my mom didn't have that luxury. She somehow figured out a way to manage all three of us.
"Growing up she took me to all of my practices from basketball gyms to football practices to baseball fields and she did a really good job of being that dual parent for me, and at the same time knowing when she needed to push me towards my uncles and have a male figure in my life."
Mahtook grew up in an athletic family as in addition to his father, his uncle Robbie was also a linebacker for the Tigers, and his other uncle Ronnie played football at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
"I have a lot of family members - my family is enormous and we're all pretty close so to have them by my side makes it way easier, and it takes a lot of stress off of me because I know no matter what happens I have their support."
Like his father and uncles, Mikie was a gifted athlete growing up, earning All-State honors as a quarterback at St. Thomas More High School and leading the football team to two district titles. He opted for baseball though, turning down offers from multiple colleges to play both sports. And seven years later, there's no question his dedication to baseball has paid off.
Flash forward to April 9, 2015, after Mahtook and the Bulls scored a 1-0 Opening Day victory on the road against Gwinnett. Following the game the outfielder was called into manager Jared Sandberg's office, and received the news he'd be waiting for his entire life.
"Obviously you dream about that day (getting called up) - that's something any baseball player dreams about and thinks about," he said. "You think that you're prepared for it and you think you know how you're going to react when it happens, when in reality you don't because when it actually does happen it seems to come at the most unexpected times."
Making the moment more special for Mahtook though, was that Mary Ann, Catherine and Christina were in the stands that night, and waiting for him when he left the clubhouse.
"My mom and sisters didn't come to Spring Training this year," Mikie said. "They decided to wait until the opening series of the year, so they flew out to Georgia and got there that day so I hadn't seen them all day. They brought me in the office and told me I was going up. Then I went outside to tell them hello and I kind of had this blank stare on my face and they asked what's wrong and I told them. The call-up itself was amazing, but to have them there and having it be unexpected just made everything better."
It was just one more step in the young outfielder's career, and it was appropriate his family was there to witness it. With the best years of his career ahead of him though, Mahtook is looking forward to the impact he can make not only on the field, but off the field as well.
In his foundation's first event at the end of January, held in Louisiana, the nonprofit raised just under $50,000, which Mahtook called a "great start." And not surprisingly, the modest star-in-the-making attributed much of the success to those around him.
"My family has a good reputation back home, so at that first event it was awesome to see everybody come out to support us," he said. "My friends, my dad's old friends, my uncle's friends - to see everyone we know come out together for one cause and see the donations we got was amazing. I give them (my family) a lot of credit for living their lives the right way and being able to build that reputation and being able to help me with what I want to do."
It's rare that a player of his age and his major league service (just eight days) will start a foundation, a credit to the kind of person Mahtook is. If you ask him though, the foundation is a reflection of Mary Ann, the person who's gone above-and-beyond for her family time and time again.
"I don't think it says as much about me as much as it's a credit to my mom, really," he said. "It's more an indication of how she raised me and my sisters and the kind of values and morals she's instilled in us throughout the course of our life."
Moving forward, Mahtook is optimistic and excited about the potential the foundation holds. He's looking to not only make it an impactful organization in Louisiana, but grow it into a national brand to reach as many people as possible. And with the people around him, he sees no reason why that can't happen.
"I have a great team around me, a great support system, and for something like this you don't want to be a one-hit wonder and fizzle out, you want it to continue and grow I think with the people we have behind it there's no question it's going to grow."
While large-scale events are difficult to host during the season, Mahtook and the foundation have already circled early November as potential date for the foundation's "first big event." The plan is to host the fundraiser in Baton Rouge, where LSU is located, and sell tickets along with invitations, as January's event was invite-only.
For now though, Mahtook will continue to focus on baseball, while still maintaining the strong sense of family that's gotten him to this point. And he knows once the season ends, his new venture will be there waiting for him, as it's in good hands while he continues to chase the major league dream.
For more information or for those interested in donating to the Mikie Mahtook Foundation, visit www.mahtookfoundation.org.