SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Ty France is returning to the San Diego Padres this season, making the Opening Day roster starting Thursday and reuniting with the organization that drafted him.
France was drafted out of San Diego State University by the Padres and called up to the major leagues in 2019. He played for San Diego until he was traded to Seattle.
"It's exciting, you know, I'm still really close with the core group here," Ty France said.
"I mean, it's just this was home for a long time, so I'm excited to be back," France said.
His return to San Diego also means reuniting with the Gwynn family. While at San Diego State University, France was coached by Padres legend Tony Gwynn, who, France said taught him a lot about life.
"I was fortunate enough to talk baseball a lot with Coach Gwynn, but just the life stuff, it hit more than you know being able to just talk baseball," France said.
"How humble they are, what positive energies they are," France said.
"They are special people, you know, from Junior all the way down to his mom, who is one of the best human beings on this planet Earth," France said.
Padres broadcaster Tony Gwynn Jr. has known France since the beginning of his career and is looking forward to what is to come for the university alumnus.
"It is because you know he's a big leaguer now, you know our relationship has developed through him being a college player and getting to the big leagues. But he's an established vet now, so you know I try to stay out of his way. He's here to do a job," Tony Gwynn Jr. said.
France said he is ready to do that job as the season begins.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
