Jackie is San Diego Magazine’s and Studios’ content strategist. Prior to that, she was its managing editor. Before her SDM career, she was a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.

PACIFIC BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) — If happiness is contagious, then Troy Horton from Pacific Beach is patient zero. He was born with autism, but made sure to never let that get in his way.

If anything, it’s propelled him forward, now landing what his family called the “opportunity of a lifetime.”

Troy might be a stranger to you, but in Pacific Beach, he’s a bit of a celebrity.

“They call me the mayor of Tecolote,” he joked. “The mayor of PB.”

That nickname is more than earned. He always shows up to support local high school athletics. There’s a little league baseball field unofficially named in his honor. He’s the bat boy for the University of San Diego baseball team, and he’s thrown out the first pitch at a Padres game.

What truly makes Troy a star, though, is his ability to find the silver lining in anything.

“What’s it like to live with autism, Troy?” ABC 10News asked.

“I love it!” he replied, grinning from ear to ear.

“What do you like about it?”

“I never get sick from it. I never die from it.”

Troy’s mom, Susie, said, “Troy looks at life through rose-colored glasses. The glass is always half full. It’s never heading towards empty.”

Well, Troy’s going to need those rose-colored glasses for his next big adventure.

“January 1st. Rose Parade,” he explained.

Troy will be walking alongside Kaiser Permanente’s float in the 2025 Rose Parade in Pasadena.

Rodger Dougherty, Kaiser’s Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations said it’s the 19th straight year they’ve had a float. However, they haven’t been accompanied by Special Olympians since 2016.

Troy is the first to be invited from San Diego. He has also been selected to be captain of the walkers.

This year’s theme? Best Day Ever.

Sounds meant to be.

“Every day is the best day ever with Troy,” Dougherty said. “His energy and exuberance, I mean it’s just it’s infectious. His teammates love it. We love it. It’s just, there is no better person on this planet to be our captain than Troy.”

Listen, even the most positive people sometimes worry about cracking under pressure.

“I hope I don’t trip and fall and break an ankle,” Troy said.

No matter what, he’s ready to start the new year with that same ol’ smile.

You can watch the 2025 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day starting at 8 a.m. on ABC 10News.

Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

TOM COSGROVE

• Position(s): Left-handed pitcher
• Bats / Throws: Left / Left
• 2024 opening day age: 28
• Height / Weight: 6-foot-2 / 190 pounds
• How acquired: 12th round in 2017 (Manhattan College)
• Contract status: Earned $750,500 in 2024; will not be arbitration-eligible until 2027.
• fWAR in 2024: Minus-0.2
• Key 2024 stats: 0-1, 11.66 ERA, 0 saves, 2 holds, 15 strikeouts, 6 walks, 1.98 WHIP, .354 opponent average, 14⅔ innings (18 games)

STAT TO NOTE

• .458 — The batting average against Cosgrove’s sinker in 2024, more than double the batting average (.220) he allowed off the pitch while finishing in the top 1 percent in the majors in exit velocity (83.9 mph) as a rookie in 2023. One reason: His sinker lost a bit of its bite, as it sat 90 mph after averaging 91.0 a year earlier. His four-seamer was also down from 92.0 mph in 2023 (.175 opponent avg.) to 90.3 in 2024 (.412 opponent avg.)

TRENDING

• Down — The other minor league pitcher arrested in Jacob Nix’s mistaken house incident, Cosgrove was actually recovering from Tommy John surgery when he pulled Nix out of the doggy door upon realizing their mistake. Nix ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing but never pitched in the organization again. Cosgrove, on the other hand, was never charged and took a giant step in his development when pitching development director Rob Marcello suggested dropping his arm slot to three-quarters to ease the stress on his elbow. The change morphed a hammer curve into a sweeper and Cosgrove took off from there, forcing the Padres to protect him from the Rule 5 draft ahead of the 2023 season. The move paid off as Cosgrove proved to be one of the hardest pitchers to square up as a rookie, leading the majors with an average exit velocity of 83.9. The sophomore slump, however, was quite severe as Cosgrove allowed six runs in one-third of an inning in his fourth appearance of the season, had a 10.50 ERA when he was demoted to Triple-A El Paso at the end of April. Cosgrove struggled initially upon returning to the Pacific Coast League, allowing 14 earned runs in his first 5⅓ innings. He earned his first return trip to the majors by allowing one earned run over nine innings, but elbow inflammation sent him to the injured list after just three appearances. Cosgrove allowed just two runs and a .207 batting average over his final 15⅓ innings with El Paso (18 strikeouts), but he was not needed after the Padres restocked the bullpen at the trade deadline (he was recalled as bullpen depth during Martín Pérez’s paternity leave but not used).

2025 OUTLOOK

• With Tanner Scott departing as a free agent, the Padres will need their pre-arb relievers to step up if they’re going to remain competitive under current budget constraints. Before 2024, Cosgrove was viewed as an important piece in a contending bullpen, so the Padres will hope he can re-harness what made him so successful as a rookie.

Roster rankings

• 30. RHP Stephen Kolek
• 31. RHP Juan Nuñez
• 32. C Brett Sullivan
• 33. UT Tyler Wade
• 34. LHP Wandy Peralta

Originally Published: December 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM PST