Motown legend Martha Reeves explained that her rendition of the national anthem “wasn’t the performance I had hoped for” at the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League game in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday.
Many fans noted differences in her vocals from earlier in her career after Reeves sang the Star-Spangled Banner at Robin Roberts Stadium before the first-ever WPBL game, featuring the Los Angeles Queens and New York Heights.
Reeves cited weather conditions and explained that she couldn’t hear herself in a statement to TMZ Sunday.
“Having just celebrated my 85th birthday, I’ve learned a great deal over more than 60 years of performing live,” Reeves said. “It was an incredible honor to be invited to perform at the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League event and to help celebrate such a historic moment for women in sports. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
“The field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn’t able to hear myself as I normally would. While it wasn’t the performance I had hoped for, I’m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.”
Reeves was joined by two backup singers for her anthem performance to mark the highly-anticipated debut of the WPBL.
The LA Queens won the inaugural game in an exciting 10-8 contest.
A sellout crowd of over 4,000 fans were in attendance for the historic game.
The WPBL, the first women’s league to exist in the United States since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League disbanded in 1954, will feature four founding teams in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco.
Each team will play 15 games, all at Robin Roberts Stadium, before the season concludes on Sept. 6.
