{"id":25407,"date":"2026-08-02T18:24:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25407"},"modified":"2026-08-02T18:24:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:24:44","slug":"womens-pro-baseball-league-gets-started-with-brutal-national-anthem-rendition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25407","title":{"rendered":"Women&#8217;s Pro Baseball League gets started with brutal national anthem rendition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The Women\u2019s Pro Baseball League started Saturday with a game between the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_432021\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/los-angeles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Queens<\/a> and the New York Heights but sports fans were seemingly drawn to the festivities before the first pitch was thrown.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and have one of their hits, &#8220;Dancing in the Street,&#8221; listed in the United States Library of Congress\u2019 National Recording Registry, was among those who were tapped to sing the national anthem before the game.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_432022\" href=\"https:\/\/link.podtrac.com\/dmwdd_article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON&#8217;T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Martha Reeves sings the national anthem before a Women's Pro Baseball League game.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Singer Martha Reeves sings the national anthem before the Women&#8217;s Pro Baseball League Opening Day game between the New York Heights and the Los Angeles Queens at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill., on Aug. 1, 2026.<\/span> <span>(Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Reeves and two other women left a lot to be desired as their rendition of the &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner&#8221; was panned on social media. The fans who packed Robin Roberts Stadium in <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_432023\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/midwest\/illinois\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Springfield, Illinois,<\/a> as well as some of the players were taken aback by the performance.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">It was a sour tune to start an otherwise historic night for women\u2019s baseball. It was the first women\u2019s pro baseball game played in the U.S. in nearly three decades.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Mo\u2019ne Davis may have been the most recognizable face on the field. Davis, who captured the hearts and minds of sports fans during the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_432024\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/mlb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Little League World Series<\/a> in 2014, started in center field for the Queens. She managed to cross the plate once in Los Angeles\u2019 win.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Queens left fielder and pitcher Maggie Foxx, was 2-for-2 with two RBI. She also struck out two batters.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/rakyung-kim-wpbl-inaugural-game.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Rakyung Kim pitches during the fourth inning of a Women's Professional Baseball League game.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>New York Heights&#8217; Rakyung Kim pitches during the fourth inning of the inaugural Women&#8217;s Professional Baseball League game against the Los Angeles Queens on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Springfield, Ill.<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Lexie Knight)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;When I walked on the field I started crying because of how much this moment meant, and how much it meant to everybody,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It means everything to us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Heights catcher Denae Benites was 4-for-4 with two RBI on the evening. She spoke about 99-year-old Maybelle Blair throwing out the first pitch. Blair played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran from 1943 to 1954 and inspired &#8220;A League of Their Own.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I think that\u2019s pretty incredible,&#8221; Benites said. &#8220;Maybelle\u2019s been sticking with us since the beginning of this journey. She\u2019s paved a path for us, really. &#8230; She\u2019s a special person and I\u2019m so happy that she got to make it out here and do that today.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/maybelle-blair-elodie-osullivan-wpbl.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Maybelle Blair and Elodie O'Sullivan stand together before a Women's Professional Baseball League game.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Maybelle Blair and Los Angeles Queens&#8217; Elodie O&#8217;Sullivan share a moment before the inaugural Women&#8217;s Professional Baseball League game against the New York Heights on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Springfield, Ill.<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Lexie Knight)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Los Angeles won the game, 10-8.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Women\u2019s Pro Baseball League started Saturday with a game between the Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights but sports fans were seemingly drawn to the festivities before the first pitch was thrown. Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas who were inducted into the Rock and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/martha-reeves-national-anthem-wpbl.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}