San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King revealed ahead of Father's Day weekend in June 2026 how his father, Jim King, abandoned a television news career to build an ice cream business that supported his family and baseball development.
The career transition allowed the elder King to establish a stable home in Rhode Island for Michael and his sister Olivia, ending a cycle of frequent relocations caused by short-term broadcasting contracts across the Northeast, according to a report by MLB.
com.
A Father's Dedication
Michael King emphasized his father's unwavering dedication to supporting his athletic interests despite the exhausting demands of managing a new business venture.
"I’ve always said I want to be most like my dad in that he never said no to me wanting to play anything," said Michael King.
"Whether it’s taking grounders, playing basketball. He had a tough day at work, he’s tired or whatever, he never said no."
The decision to change industries emerged after the family decided that moving every few years for television roles was no longer sustainable for their young children.
"My mom was like, ‘We can’t keep doing this with the kids,’" recalled Michael King. "‘We’ve got to figure out something.
We can’t just be moving them every couple of years.’ So he started his own ice cream company."
Jim King commercialized a family sherbet recipe from his grandmother, launching a brand called Gaga's ice cream that he sold to local vendors despite initial family doubts.
"‘Do something useful and go clean the garage at least, we’re not going to be able to sell your family’s ice cream recipe,’" said Michele King, mother of Michael King.
The business successfully sustained the household for approximately 15 years, during which Michael and his sister frequently assisted with manufacturing and packaging tasks at the shop.
"He probably put us through some child labor laws," said Michael King. "I was making the labels, putting stickers on the little pints, putting stickers on the lids.
He brought me to the shop all the time where we’d actually make the ice cream. … It was fun to always have an unlimited supply of ice cream."
Operating an independent company granted Jim King flexible hours, allowing him to attend after-school activities and baseball games that his previous late-night news shifts prevented him from seeing.
"I was asleep by the time he came home, so he wasn’t able to see me play baseball, all the other after-school activities," recalled Michael King.
"Now that he’s basically got his own hours and he’s an ice cream salesman -- is I guess what you’d call him -- he had the time to do that."
Jim King leveraged his media connections to contact ESPN broadcaster Karl Ravech, who subsequently arranged a five-hour pitching lesson for Michael with former Major League pitcher Orel Hershiser in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
"I don’t know if he would have had enough time to find the connections that were able to help my career," said Michael King.
"I think of it all the time. I want to be a huge part of my daughter’s life.
I know it’s very hard, when I go away for a week or so."
The Padres starter expressed deep gratitude for his father's presence during his fundamental developmental years, a priority Michael now balances with his own career as a father.
"I don’t know if that was ever weighing on him.
Or if he realized how much more special it was to be with his kids throughout our main development years, where you’re actually seeing your kids grow up.
So I’m just very thankful, for me, to be able to have him," said Michael King.
