Thousands of fans packed Petco Park Sunday to watch movie stars like Jamie Foxx and actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar take the field for the All-Star celebrity softball game.
But it was a one-time San Diego Charger who may have had the day’s most special moment.
Drew Brees is no longer the Bolts quarterback but he still has a soft spot for San Diego’s other pro team, the Padres. He told 10News he became a Padre fan quickly after the Chargers drafted him in 2001.
And while he’s now known as the face of the New Orleans Saints, it’s baseball that was his first love.
Tim Raines, Rickey Henderson and Ozzie Smith were a few of his idols.
Brees took the Petco Park field with them Sunday at the All-Star celebrity softball game, in front of thousands of baseball fans.
But it was being reunited with Smith, a Hall of Fame shortstop, that gave him a chance to correct a big mistake.
It started when Brees got Smith’s autograph as a 10-year-old in St. Louis.
“I remember standing on the first base line, trying to get him to come over. Finally I got him to come over, and I got him to sign my glove,” Brees said.
But Brees got him to sign the inside of his glove, which he used to field ground balls. The autograph faded fast. But Brees made it right Sunday.
“In the locker room as we were getting ready I kind of walked up and I had him sign my bat,” Brees said. “So I was like, 'You’re my first baseball autograph and now my last baseball autograph.'”
Brees added a home run to his list of accomplishments Sunday but his team lost 8-7.
