{"id":644384,"date":"2026-03-26T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/644384\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:30:33","slug":"baseball-fans-hail-greatest-national-anthem-of-all-time-ahead-of-yankees-giants-on-mlb-opening-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/644384\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball fans hail ‘greatest national anthem of all time’ ahead of Yankees-Giants on MLB opening night"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DANIEL MATTHEWS, US SENIOR SPORTS WRITER<\/a> <\/a> and ALEX RASKIN, US SPORTS NEWS EDITOR<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 20:23 EDT, 25 March 2026 | Updated: 00:12 EDT, 26 March 2026 <\/p>\n

Baseball fans were left with ‘goosebumps’ after a stirring rendition of the national anthem on MLB opening night.<\/p>\n

The New York Yankees<\/a> traveled to the San Francisco Giants<\/a>\u00a0to raise the curtain on the new season and retired US serviceman Generald Wilson was given the honor of singing The Star-Spangled Banner.<\/p>\n

The Yankees went on to record an impressive 7-0 win on the road after Wilson threatened to steal the show ahead of the first pitch.<\/p>\n

His performance drew praise from supporters, one of whom asked: ‘Was that the greatest national anthem of all time?’<\/p>\n

Another called it the ‘best anthem in years,’ adding that the rendition gave them ‘goosebumps,’ while one fan wrote on social media: ‘Straight chills. Best way to start the 2026 season!’<\/p>\n

The performance ended with a military flyover and included a drone pyrotechnic show that saw the American flag appear in the sky above Oracle Park.<\/p>\n

\"Baseball <\/p>\n

Baseball fans were left with ‘goosebumps’ after a stirring rendition of the national anthem<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A drone pyrotechnic smoke display forms the American flag during the national anthem\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The New York Yankees traveled to the San Francisco Giants for the season-opening game<\/p>\n

‘Guy KILLED the National Anthem. Wow! What a powerful voice. Beautifully done!’ one fan said. ‘The American flag drone display was pretty awesome too.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wilson’s performance was shown on Netflix as the streaming giant broadcast its first ever live Major League Baseball game.<\/p>\n

Anchored by former ESPN host Elle Duncan, the\u00a0broadcast featured Giants legend Barry Bonds, WWE wrestler John Cena and NFL quarterback Jameis Winston – a former college baseball player.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Netflix, however, many fans slammed its\u00a0<\/a>coverage <\/a>of the season opener.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Netflix broadcasting a baseball game to the whole country in an absurd marketing stunt at the start of the MLB season,’ one critic wrote on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The streaming service’s exclusive coverage of MLB’s opener was used to promote several shows, including another season of Netflix’s Addams Family spinoff, Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It was a bad decision to put the mlb opener on netflix,’ another added. ‘[For] the first time in thirty years I [don’t] get to see opening day. thanks guys.’<\/p>\n

Like NFL and NBA<\/a>\u00a0fans, who have been pressed to add other subscription streaming services on top of expensive cable plans, baseball devotees were unhappy at the prospect of another monthly bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The New York Yankees kickstarted the new season with an impressive 7-0 win on the road\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Elle <\/p>\n

Elle Duncan and Jameis Winston were part of the Netflix broadcast crew on Wednesday night<\/p>\n

Many simply refused to watch rather than pay for plans ranging from $7.99 to $24.99 per billing cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Looking forward to NOT being able to watch my Giants play the Yanks on opening day tonight thanks to Netflix, despite paying the annual fee for the baseball app,’ one fan wrote on X, referring to MLB.TV’s $29.99 monthly plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘MLB is just as bad as football. Gotta have like 4 diff streaming services if you wanna actually see all games.’<\/p>\n

Many of those who did tune in took issue with Netflix’s version of the scorebug<\/a>,\u00a0the digital icon that displays key details such as thre score.<\/p>\n

‘What on God’s green Earth is this Netflix scorebug,’ asked one fan of the icon at the bottom of the screen.<\/p>\n

‘That Netflix scorebug is irritating me,’ another added. One critic seemed to have an issue with the minuscule pitch count at the bottom of the icon: ‘This scorebug has me squinting.’<\/p>\n

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\n Baseball fans hail ‘greatest national anthem of all time’ ahead of Yankees-Giants on MLB opening night<\/p>\n