First baseman France carries Hall of Fame legacy for Dust Devils

You might not guess just by looking at Ty France, the Tri-City Dust Devils’ first baseman, that the 6-foot, 205-pounder is one of the most productive hitters in the league.

But they used to say the exact same thing about France’s college coach at San Diego State — the late Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn — who tied a National League record with eight batting titles and also won five Gold Gloves as an outfielder with the San Diego Padres.

“The hardest part about playing for him was he made hitting too easy,” France said of Gwynn, who retired after 20 seasons with 3,141 hits and a career average of .338. “He would say, ‘Get in position. Take your best swing.’ When you’re a freshman struggling with the bat, you say, ‘Coach, I don’t know what you mean. I need more than that.’

“Once you slow down and think about it, that’s all hitting really is. Get in position. Take a good swing.”

France, a 34th-round draft pick by the Padres in Major League Baseball’s 2015 draft, showed up at Gesa Stadium in June with what Dust Devils hitting coach Marvin Benard termed an “odd-looking swing.” But after a slow start, France quickly became one of the big reasons for Tri-City’s first Northwest League playoff berth since 2011.

He hit .143 in eight games in June but exploded in July, batting .371 with 10 doubles, 19 runs scored and 16 RBIs. He leads the Dust Devils in batting (.284), doubles (17) and on-base percentage (.417), ranking in the top 10 in the NWL in each category.

“Ty keeps the same approach regardless if things are going good or bad. He takes the swing of a big hitter but produces line-drive doubles and singles that bring runners in,” Tri-City manager Anthony Contreras said. “I would be willing to bet there were numerous things he learned from (Gwynn), and they’re transferring to the field.”

Like many players at SDSU during Gwynn’s coaching tenure from 2001-2013, France was a bit awestruck when he first arrived on the same campus where Gwynn starred in baseball and basketball from 1977-1980.

“The first day on campus, you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s Tony Gwynn.’ After that, it’s just ‘coach,’ ” said France, who hit .284 with 135 runs and 130 RBIs in 189 games over three seasons at SDSU. “He didn’t act any differently toward anyone whether you were a normal student or a player.”

France, a right-handed hitter, played on a traveling team with Dust Devils shortstop Peter Van Gansen while in high school and showed some power as a switch hitter, blasting a long home run on his only left-handed swing of the day.

But when he showed Gwynn his southpaw stroke, the career left-hander nixed the idea.

“I took a couple swings, and he said I should stick to righty,” France said. “He’s a hitting perfectionist. If you’re a right-hander and your swing isn’t perfect left-handed, then nope.”

When Gwynn died after a lengthy battle with cancer of the salivary gland on June 16, 2014, France was the only player on the SDSU campus, putting him in an unwanted spotlight. He spent hours talking with local and national television crews and journalists about the legacy and contributions of his coach.

“I wasn’t ready for that at all,” France said.

But now that he’s starting his professional career in the same league in which Gwynn began his career at Walla Walla in 1981, France thinks his coach would be proud of where he is and what he’s done with his first season.

“I think about him all the time,” France said. “I’ll write ‘TG19’ on my cleat and almost everything I play with. He made a huge impact on my career.

“If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I’d be where I am today.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 9:25 PM with the headline "First baseman France carries Hall of Fame legacy for Dust Devils."