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In spirit of his father, Mikie Mahtook is a driven Tampa Bay Rays prospect (St. Petersburg Times)

**By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer**

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

PORT CHARLOTTE -- Rays outfield prospect Mikie Mahtook plays the game with the
exuberance of an 11-year-old, diving and sliding, soaking in every out as if
it were his last.

"He plays baseball like a football player," LSU coach Paul Mainieri says, "100
miles an hour with his hair on fire all the time."

Turns out, Mahtook, 22, plays like his dad. Michael Mahtook, a former LSU
linebacker, died of heart disease when Mikie was 4. To honor him, Mahtook
wears his father's No. 54, and writes it on his baseball cleats.

"I think about him everyday," said Mahtook, selected in the first round in
2011 (31st overall). "That number is our family lucky number. It's on me at
all times. I feel like whenever I need him, he's there for me."

Mahtook's mother, Mary Ann, 47, says she sees a lot of her late husband in her
son -- the way he smiles, the way he eats, the way he twirls his black hair.

"I'm like, 'Oh my, that's your daddy,' " Mary Ann said. "It's amazing the
genetics."

The Rays believe Mahtook has unique maturity ...

St. Petersburg Times