PEORIA, Ariz. — When Ty France first arrived on the campus of San Diego State University in the fall of 2012, he was armed with a deeply rooted expectation of what playing for the school’s baseball coach — Tony Gywnn — could potentially mean for him.
“You walk on campus as an 18-year-old expecting him to make you the next Tony Gwynn,” France said of Gwynn, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who played his entire career for the Padres before becoming the Aztecs coach in 2003.
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On the first day of practice, France grabbed a bat and settled in for what he hoped would be a sermon from Mr. Padre on the nuances of hitting; precise and detailed instruction that delivered a promise of, yes, you too can become a Hall of Famer.
Instead, France got a bucket of cold water thrown on his assumptions, as Gwynn delivered a succinct message that floored France — and not necessarily in a good way.
“You show up that first day and all that he says is, ‘Get in position and take your best swing,’” France said. “You’re like, ‘What? I’m going to need more than that. You have to help me. I came here for you to make me great and this is all you’re telling me?’”
Every time France shares this story, without fail, it makes him smile. In that exact moment, France might have felt somewhat shortchanged, but the longer he played with the Aztecs and for Gwynn, the more he came to realize that what he was seeking was exactly what Gwynn was preaching.
Gwynn’s words and his message, this and others, still resonate with France nearly a decade later. For good reason, too. They still apply, and have served him well — in college, the minors leagues and now the big leagues.
Gwynn’s offerings still hit home for France, probably because Gwynn is no longer here to share them. Gwynn died shortly after France’s sophomore season in June 2014 at the age of 54 due to cancer of the salivary gland. France still thinks about Gwynn a lot. And he still thinks back to those words Gwynn shared that first day, leaning on them when things aren’t always going his way at the plate.
“When you think about hitting, the simpler you can make it, the easier it is,” France said. “That was his way of simplifying hitting for me. And you know what? To this day, I still think that: Get in position and take a good swing.”
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That simple message served France well at San Diego State (.337 average), in the minor leagues (.294) and now in parts of two seasons in the major leagues (.265), first with the Padres and then the Mariners last season after he came over in a trade with San Diego. In 23 games after the trade, France batted .302.
“This guy can hit, and he knows he can hit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He has good at-bats, and has a plan when he goes up there.”
That much has been obvious this spring. On Tuesday, France hit his third home run in Cactus League play and had a double and a walk. He’s hitting .615 in 13 at-bats.
Here's Ty France's no-doubt homer in the first inning today against Royals starter Danny Duffy: pic.twitter.com/zfDIirMfYG
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) March 9, 2021
As the Mariners move forward with their rebuild, they will count on France to help give a shot in the arm to the offense, a must if Seattle is to play meaningful games in September. He’ll play a little second base, some third base, but France’s home in the lineup will be as the designated hitter. That name, designated hitter. It’s fitting. France’s calling card, for as long as he can remember, has been his bat.
“Growing up, and where my birthday fell (July 13), I always was forced to play up with older kids, so I think that helped me a lot, just in terms of competing,” France said. “I used to have to go out there and just hold my own and, you know, I didn’t like being bad at things, so I took it (hitting) to heart.”
I asked France what he loved best about hitting. He did not say anything romantic about the sweet sound of the ball coming off the bat, nor did he point to results. It wasn’t even that unmistakable feeling when you square a ball up so well that you hardly feel anything.
“I think for me it’s just the competing aspect,” France said. “People like to do what they’re good at, and I’ve been blessed to be a good hitter. And so I think for me it’s just doing something you’re good at and being able to go up against the best — you know, the Clayton Kershaws, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg. Being in the box, facing guys like that, it’s just an awesome feeling.”
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And, let’s be honest, so is success. France’s right-handed swing, honed from those years of playing up against older competition, has largely remained unchanged as he’s climbed the professional ladder. Some players tinker, and some do a lot. But France has found something that works — a swing that, largely, looks the same each time he swings a bat.
“He keeps his barrel through the zone on-plane for a long time,” Servais said. “So his timing does not have to be perfect. A lot of players struggle at our level because of the range of high-end velocity versus the breaking balls and the changes and the things they see. He can handle multiple pitches with different speeds. He doesn’t have to be perfect with his timing. It’s what allows good hitters to be consistent.”
France said there has only ever been one time when his bat betrayed him, and that was during his freshman year at SDSU. He’d gotten off to a cold start — like really cold — when he was summoned to now-head coach Mark Martinez’s room on a road trip. There, Gwynn was waiting.
“I had a really good fall, and won the third-base job. But I think that for a little over half the year, I was maybe hitting .180 or .200,” France said. “I hated baseball, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this … this is not fun.’ I want to say we were playing in New Mexico and Coach Martinez called me to his room and sat me down with Coach Gwynn. He said, ‘This is your job. Either you figure it out … or it’s going to be a long year for you.’
“I think having that little comfort of knowing I was not coming out of the lineup helped me turn the page. It took the pressure off me.”
France was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America in 2013, and he was later named the MVP of the Mountain West tournament after setting a record with his 16 hits. France hit .356 and .336 the next two seasons and was picked by the Padres in the 34th round of the 2015 draft.
He reached Triple A at age 23 in 2018, and the experience of playing in El Paso served as a springboard for the following season. In spring training 2019, he hit .270 with two home runs and was among the last players sent to Triple A at the end of camp. France didn’t lament the move because he knew his time was coming.
Ty France can swing it. 💥 pic.twitter.com/KFxiScYhVD
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 7, 2021
“It was just that feeling of, I know that I’m a big leaguer. I know I can go out there and play with the best,” France said. “So it was just going out there and having a lot of fun. I never thought about needing three hits in this game, four hits in that game. I knew at some point I’d get that call.”
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He was right. France was promoted on April 24 and got his first major-league hit two days later against the Nationals. He went back to El Paso on June 6 and then came back to the big leagues for good on Aug. 16. During his stints with El Paso, France hit .399 in 348 plate appearances. He was hitting .400 on Aug. 9. The last Pacific Coast League player to hit .400 was Ox Eckhardt in 1933 (.414) with the San Francisco Missions. France didn’t qualify for the PCL batting title, but that performance certainly opened some eyes.
When Seattle acquired France from the Padres as part of a seven-player deal last August that saw catcher Austin Nola head to San Diego, Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto admitted that he’d been trying to pry France from Padres GM A.J. Preller for some time.
“As many calls as A.J. made to me this last week about Austin Nola, I have made as many to him over the last couple of years regarding Ty France,” Dipoto said. “Dating back to San Diego State, he has hit everywhere he’s ever been. … He’s a pretty good judge of the strike zone, he’s got real power and the hit ability from line to line, it just sneaks up on you.”
France is happy where he landed. He got a chance to play every day after the trade last August, and that opportunity will be there again in 2021 — especially if he keeps hitting like he has this spring. France said he sees better days ahead for the Mariners.
“I’ve said it a couple times, there’s a lot of similarities that I see here that I saw in San Diego,” he said. “It’s close. We’re not that far off here.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)