Ryan Braun makes appearance at Brewers On Deck event

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Hundreds made the trek to the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee on Sunday, January 26th for the annual "Brewers On Deck" event -- and Ryan Braun was on hand.

Braun on Sunday made his first big appearance since his August apology for using performance-enhancing drugs. He seemed to be back in the good graces of fans -- but he says there's still a lot of work to do.

"Ryan Braun still has supporters here in this town," Ricardo Solis said.

However, Solis admits Braun's path to redemption has been a rocky one.

"Last season didn't exactly go the way we'd hoped," Solis said.

The MVP wanted to admit his actions and apologize. That irked some fans, but a new generation may not have caught the controversy. Young fans like Connor Titterton say they've waited years to get this close to their favorite player.

"He did make some mistakes.  I`m a person who always likes to forgive," Titterton said.

Of course, Braun is just one member of the team, and there were plenty filling the halls of the Wisconsin Center on Sunday -- posing for pictures and getting fans pumped up for the Brewers 2014 season.

"The team is always going to play hard," Art Gerhardt said.

Gerhardt on Sunday was showing off and selling a huge collection of bobbleheads and signed memorabilia.

Gerhardt believes brighter days are ahead for the Brewers, and the man who still has to fulfill one more wish for the fans.

"He made a mistake. He served his sentence for it.  If he hits a home run the first time back - I don`t think anyone will remember anything about it," Gerhardt said.

The Wisconsin Center was home to nearly 30 Brewers players and a record crowd of 14,138.

Brewers pitchers and catchers report to Maryvale, Arizona for Spring Training on February 15th.