The Women’s Professional Baseball League has officially begun, and what a beginning it was.
The first game took place Saturday night between the Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights, but before the action began, fans were treated, or, shall we say, subjected to, an anthem performance that will go down as, well, you’ll have to listen for yourself.
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
Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas, who is actually in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was selected as one of the three singers. It is unclear where they found the other two “vocalists,” but perhaps event planners should lose those numbers too.
As one might expect, the reaction online was not favorable.
“I admire her ability to pick a key and just ignore it,” one fan wrote.
“I think everyone owes Roseanne an apology after seeing this,” opined another.
“Blast this out over Iranian TV. They will surrender by dinner time,” suggested another.
“Well hey they can’t all be Enrico Palazzo,” one X user wrote.
“There’s no <insert whatever the hell that was> in baseball!!” another wrote.
Reeves, 85, was undoubtedly a great singer in her prime. However, vocal cords do not age like fine wines, and, unfortunately, those around her allowed her to do this.
In any event, Los Angeles prevailed over New York in the first Women’s Pro Baseball League game, 10-8.
