On Wednesday, September 30, former professional quarterback Drew Brees threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the National League Wild Card Game between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

After Brees threw out the pitch, the Padres went on to beat the Cubs 4-1 and win the NL Wild Card series in two games.

San Diego will now play the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. The first game of that series will be at American Family Field on Saturday, October 3, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Brees and his San Diego Connection

Brees got his start in the National Football League in San Diego. The San Diego Chargers selected him 32nd overall in the 2001 NFL Draft after he played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers.

Brees played five seasons in San Diego from 2001 to 2005. His time with the Chargers was filled with ups and downs in the win column. He finished with a 30-28 record during his five seasons with the Chargers.

Brees also had 12,348 passing yards and 80 passing touchdowns with the Chargers during those five seasons.

2004 Comeback Player of the Year

The best accomplishment Brees had in San Diego was winning the 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

In 2003, Brees played in 11 games with San Diego, and the Chargers had a 2-9 record during that stretch. Due to the poor stretch of play, Brees was benched for 41-year-old veteran quarterback Doug Flutie. The Chargers went on to finish the 2003 season with a 2-14 record.

In 2004, Brees flipped the switch and put together a great season for San Diego. The Chargers had a 12-4 record and won the American Football Conference West Division title. That season, Brees finished with 3,159 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns. He also had just seven interceptions.

A historic run with the New Orleans Saints and a Super Bowl championship

After the 2005 season, Brees left San Diego and signed with the New Orleans Saints. This is where he would spend the rest of his NFL career.

In 15 seasons with the Saints, he finished with a 142-86 record and threw for 68,010 passing yards. Brees also had 491 passing touchdowns with New Orleans.

The Hall of Fame quarterback was a two-time AP Offensive Player of the Year with the Saints in 2008 and 2011. Brees was also a first-team All-Pro player during his first season in New Orleans in 2006.

Brees reached the top of the mountain with the New Orleans Saints during the 2010 Super Bowl. He was the Most Valuable Player of the game as the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. It was New Orleans' first and only Super Bowl championship.

In that Super Bowl victory over the Colts, Brees had 288 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. He was very accurate in the game as well, completing 82% of his passes and throwing just seven incompletions.

After retiring from football following the 2020 season, Brees was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2026 class.

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