Rest in peace, Lily Anderson: Courageous girl sang inspiring national anthem at Braves game

It's a sad Sunday morning here on Big League Stew as we've learned that Lily Anderson, the young girl who bowled all of us over with a memorable and inspiring rendition of the national anthem last year, has died at age 11 after a long and brave fight with cancer.

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Lily was 10 years old when she took the field before an Atlanta Braves game in July 2011 and delivered a sweet and simple performance of the song as an enraptured Turner Field crowd stood in almost perfect silence. After she was done, Braves fans responded with what pitcher Peter Moylan called "the longest standing ovation I've ever witnessed" and there's no doubt that every second of it was earned. In the five years of posting baseball-related news on this website, Lily's national anthem might be the one that touched the most hearts. We know that we'll never forget it.

We'd like to pass our condolences to Lily's family and we hope you take the time to watch her rendition one more time. She sang the song the way it's meant to be sung and the world is lucky that she left us with such a beautiful memory.

What a smile. What a song. Rest in peace, Lily.

For more information on Lily Anderson, please visit her Facebook page.

Stay warm this winter ...
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