PEORIA, Ariz. — After a season in which he was a first-time All-Star and played a key role in helping the Seattle Mariners end their two-decade playoff drought, Ty France extended his memorable year by taking his wife, Maggie, to Europe.
It was his first time there, and the couple went big. They started with London and Rome. Next up were Zagreb and Dubrovnik in Croatia, where Maggie’s family is from. Then they finished with a few days in Paris.
“When we checked into the hotel, they saw my last name,” France said. “And they just started speaking to me in French. And I’m looking at the guy like, ‘I have no idea what you’re saying.’ And he could tell that I had this blank look on my face.”
From there, it went like this:
“Do you not speak French?” the hotel desk clerk said.
“No, sir. Sorry,” France said.
“Shame on you,” scolded the clerk.
France laughed as he recounted the story. One day, the first baseman who inspired South of France nights at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park said, he might learn French. For now, he has enough on his plate trying to revive the art of hitting to all fields — a style he was taught by one of hitting’s great practitioners, Tony Gwynn — and helping the Mariners build on last season, when they made the postseason for the first…
