https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/08/talking-with-padres-rookie-reliever-and-san-diego-native-david-morgan/

Were you born in San Diego?

A: Yes, I was born here in Rancho Peñasquitos. My parents met here when they were 15 or 16 and started dating, so my whole family is from here. We moved to Orange County when I was pretty young. I went to high school up there and stayed up there, but all my friends lived down here and went to college down here, so I kind of was back and forth all the time. Like our family events, Christmas, Thanksgiving, everything was down here. So, kind of like my first and second home, back and forth between here and Orange County.

So you grew up a San Diego sports fan?

A: Yeah, Padres and Chargers. I’m still a Charger fan. I know they left, but I’m still a Charger fan. But yeah, Padre fan my whole life. I grew up coming to this stadium.

Who were the players you loved watching as a kid?

A: Obviously Trevor Hoffman, Khalil Green. That group of guys was pretty cool. I was a shortstop. Pitched a little bit when I was little, so I loved Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman. And LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) was my favorite athlete outside of baseball. I loved him. The visor on his helmet, that whole thing.

How did Altobelli impact your career?

A: I had a lot of stuff going on in my life at that point, and baseball was kind of like my vice. (Altobelli) told me I could be a big-league shortstop, big-league third baseman, whatever. I never pitched, so he never pushed me as a pitcher. But he impacted me in every way possible. He changed my work ethic and the way I viewed how to go about my day, every single day, at the field. I learned how to be a leader because of him. And it wasn’t until after he passed, and a couple years after that, where … my coach (at Hope International University) told me, ‘Hey, get off the mound a little bit, maybe boost your draft stock.’ So I started pitching a little bit, not even thinking I was going to sign as a pitcher, just kind of as, ‘Hey, I have a good arm’ type of thing. And it started turning more heads than I thought, and everyone started calling me about pitching, and it changed my trajectory.

Did his sudden passing affect how you think about the fragility of life?

A: Yeah, 100%. It helps me take a step back when the days are hard and a little lonely. You can kind of take a step back and appreciate where you are. And regardless of where you are, you can appreciate what you have.

You have a tattoo behind your ear with Roman numerals. What does it symbolize?

A: It’s of Altobelli and his daughter, Alyssa, and a player named Jourdan Watanabe. He played at Orange Coast College and he passed away while he was playing there, and he was number 22. So the numbers 5, 14, and 22 for all of them.

What are your favorite San Diego spots?

A: I think Mission Beach and Ocean Beach. I kind of like the hippies, the skateboarders, the surfers, all the locals out there. That’s where I like to be.

Do you ever surf anymore?

A: Yeah, I do.

Any other surfers inside the clubhouse?

A: Yeah, we got a bunch of dudes that surf. Joe (Musgrove). I know Jason (Adam) wants to start learning. We have trainers and doctors that work here that surf. Our chefs, they surf. They all want to go out at some point, so we’ll all go out together.

41 comments

  9. David Morgan has the stuff to be a high leverage guy. Need to keep giving him opportunities

  12. Welp, that settles it. Giving him a +20 boost to all stats in The Show now.

  16. Love it! What a great piece about someone who’s very quietly having an amazing rookie year.

    Side note, always fun Jason Adam’s name pop up in these types of articles. Seems like he’s the kinda guy that a bunch of our younger pitchers really gravitate to (that post from the other day where most of our pitchers picked Adam as the guy with the most unread texts comes to mind).

  19. best memory from old school sd sports days, having the marty schottenheimer teams and chanting to opposing teams “YOU CANT RUN” or hearing hells bells

  25. *”LT (LaDainian Tomlinson)”*

    this made me laugh out loud,,,she really needs to clarify who Morgan meant? If so…that is so San Diego

  34. Heilbrunn in the article wrote ‘Green’ instead of ‘Greene.’

    OP with the underrated save.

  38. Damn. Watanabe’s passing was traumatic and sudden, like Altobelli. So much sadness in that tattoo.

  41. Imagine paddling out and you look over to Joe Musgrove, Jason Adam and Morgan sitting there.

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