By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM – Major League Baseball officials announced Wednesday that a Sequim teen has been selected to sing the national anthem at the start of the World Series game this coming Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
18-year-old Pearle Peterson grew up in Sequim, is a senior in high school, and has been with the Boys and Girls Club for 11 years. A self-taught singer, Peterson’s remarkable talent has had her performing all over the country over the past year as an ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club of America.
We asked Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula Mary Budke how Major League Baseball found out about Peterson.
“Major League Baseball is a good friend and a national partner and supporter of Boys and Girls Clubs Of America. And so, our president Jim Clark has enjoyed watching Pearle perform across the country at these major events and said, “I’d like to get her at a baseball game.” And so, Boys and Girls Club made the connection with Major League Baseball and told us there was zero percentage chance. This has never been done before. Just hasn’t been done. And Frank told us that there’s probably a 99.9% percent chance it wasn’t going to happen, and could we get a recording of her singing acapella the national anthem. And so we scrambled around and got a recording and again thought nothing of it, because we knew there wasn’t really a chance. But where there’s a Pearle, there’s a chance. And then we got the call last week that, “Get her ready. She’s going to the World Series, game 2.”
Peterson said in a statement she’s been singing since she could talk. She credits her Boys and Girls Club teen room director Kara Mao, also a musician, for supporting her and giving her a shoulder to lean on. She said singing for the World Series doesn’t feel real, and feels she won’t be able to fully grasp the gravity of this opportunity until she’s on the field.
The World Series Game will be broadcast live on the Fox Sports channel this Saturday beginning at 5:00pm.
(Photo courtesy of Matthew Nash)