WATCH: Martha Reeves’ Unusual National Anthem Performance Goes Viral at Women’s Pro Baseball Opener
The Women’s Pro Baseball League opened its inaugural season this weekend. But the game itself was quickly overshadowed by the pregame national anthem.
Motown legend Martha Reeves, joined by two other women, performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Los Angeles Queens faced the New York Heights at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.
The rendition immediately drew attention online. Some fans in the stadium appeared stunned, while social media users quickly shared clips and reactions. The performance became the main topic surrounding a game that marked the return of professional women’s baseball to the United States after nearly three decades.
WATCH:
Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the national anthem at the first Women’s Pro Baseball League tonight pic.twitter.com/3lEYRYNQTi
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) August 2, 2026
“Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the national anthem at the first Women’s Pro Baseball League tonight,” sports reporter Kendall Baker wrote in a post on X.
The video had been viewed nearly two million times on X alone by Sunday morning.
Reeves, 85, led the performance. She is best known as the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas and is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. She has not publicly responded to the reaction.
On the field, the Los Angeles Queens defeated the New York Heights, 10-8. Mo’ne Davis, who became a national sports figure during the 2014 Little League World Series, started in center field for Los Angeles and scored once.
Queens left fielder and pitcher Maggie Foxx went 2-for-2 with two RBI. She also struck out two batters.
“When I walked on the field I started crying because of how much this moment meant, and how much it meant to everybody,” Foxx said. “It means everything to us.”
New York catcher Denae Benites went 4-for-4 with two RBI. She also praised 99-year-old Maybelle Blair, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Blair played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1943 to 1954 and later inspired the film “A League of Their Own.”
“I think that’s pretty incredible,” Benites said. “Maybelle’s been sticking with us since the beginning of this journey. She’s paved a path for us, really. … She’s a special person and I’m so happy that she got to make it out here and do that today.”
The league has additional games scheduled in the coming days as it works to reestablish professional women’s baseball in America.