Last Monday, the United States’ 2026 World Baseball Classic squad revealed that Mark DeRosa, their manager from 2023, will be returning. Additionally, Team USA now has a captain. That would be Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, who will be participating in a WBC for the first time. But if he’s willing to participate, who else would you want to make captain of Team USA, because he’s actually Aaron Judge?
It’s not only the team he plays for during the day that makes Judge a true superstar. Despite sharing the AL with Shohei Ohtani before 2024, Judge has won two American League MVP titles and hit an incredible.301/.419/.642 with 202 home runs since 2021.
Even though Judge has never participated in the WBC, it’s not because he lacks desire. Judge was a free agent that summer and concentrated on that. He had blasted an AL record 62 home runs in 2022, which meant a lengthier, more demanding, and all-encompassing season given the additional attention. His invitation to the 2023 tournament just came at the wrong moment.
“Hopefully they still want me” was Judge’s response when FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar questioned him about it back in February 2025. Judge said to FOX Sports, “It would be cool to represent your country,” “[Team USA] advanced to the championship game, but they lost. Therefore, we must win. Let’s see. We’ll see.
Thosar gave an explanation for his decision to turn down the 2023 team invitation: “The two-time MVP award winner’s first focus became spending time with his teammates after he signed a nine-year contract with the Yankees and was chosen captain in December of that year. According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Judge felt a greater obligation as captain to arrive early for spring training and mentor the team’s younger players. He specifically wanted to make sure he got to know the organization’s prospects. Judge can now afford the spring distraction of an international tournament since he is more confident in his position within the organization and is comfortably in the midst of the same deal he signed.
