Brandon Watson and Team Watson brought out a star-studded lineup for the 6th Annual Charity Celebrity Softball Game on Sunday at Loyola Marymount University’s Page Stadium in Los Angeles. The game was powered by The RightWay Foundation and Arete Industrial Solutions, and athletes, entertainers, families and supporters braved scorching temperatures to rally behind a cause bigger than the final score.
The field was packed with familiar faces, including Jonathan Majors, Meagan Good, Spectacular of Pretty Ricky, Matt Barnes, Terrell Owens, Paul Pierce, Terence Crawford, Amber Rose, Princess Love, D Smoke, Don Benjamin, Compton AV and India Love.
Between the competitive plays, crowd reactions and laughs shared between innings, the afternoon had the high-energy atmosphere that has become a Team Watson signature. Compton AV and India Love closed out the day with a special performance that had fans on their feet.
Good traded her glove for a clipboard and joined the action as a coach, and she came prepared. “Well, so far, the word that I heard was just be enthusiastic, make sure that folks hustle, and then channel my inner, I’m a big A League of Their Own movie person, so they were like, channel your inner Tom Hanks, so I was like, I got it,” she told The Quintessential Gentleman.
For Spectacular, showing up was personal. “Just going through the struggle I went through as a kid, I know what it felt like to have support,” he said. “And now I’m in a position where I can be the same person that somebody was for me when I was a kid.”
Former MLB pitcher Edwin Jackson echoed the spirit of the day. “It’s important for us to give back,” he said. “I think when you’ve been in a position to be blessed with certain things, giving back is part of the due diligence that comes with being in certain positions. Plus, it feels good for the soul to be able to go out and help a life, you know what I’m saying, that’s out there that needs help.”
Jackson, a co-founder of the Players Alliance, continues to open doors for Black and brown youth in baseball, and he offered simple advice for athletes moving on from the game. “Find what you love to do,” he said. “Find your passion and find something that will make you want to wake up every day and go hustle to go get it.”
At the heart of the event was The RightWay Foundation, the Los Angeles nonprofit that helps transition-age foster and probation youth secure employment, stable housing and the tools for sustainable adulthood. Founder Franco Vega knows that journey firsthand.
“I was an orphan as a little kid. And then at 19, I had no more family. And then I had to grind it out,” he said. “Ended up on the streets.” What carried him through, he said, was a foster grandmother who never stopped believing in him. “What I learned is that you only need one person. And she was that one person,” Vega said. “So I’m trying to be this one person for 1,700 youth right now.”
Nearly 15 years in, the foundation now owns apartment buildings to provide stable housing for the young people it serves, and Vega said the money raised goes directly toward that mission. “The money goes to buy new properties and then keep the rent low,” he said. Looking at how far the organization has come, he added, “I’m raising millions of dollars and we’re doing the right thing. So I’m honored. I’m blessed.”
The day began before the first pitch with the Day of Truth free clinic for youth ages 7 to 18, held in partnership with Inner City Brotherhood. Young participants learned fundamental baseball skills directly from professional players while gaining exposure to mentorship, teamwork and discipline.
For the Watson family, baseball has always meant more than the game. It’s a bridge back to the communities and early lessons that helped shape paths from local ballfields to the Major Leagues.
Six years in, Team Watson continues to turn celebration into service, and Sunday was another reminder that the biggest wins happen off the scoreboard.
Photo Credit: Jose Montanez
