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Aaron Judge is the captain of the New York Yankees and will serve as the captain of Team USA in 2026. The country's highest baseball honor is being bestowed upon the reigning AL MVP after he agreed to join the roster for the first time in his career.
Judge had previously said he wanted to focus entirely on the Yankees. In 2017, he was a rookie who'd not yet broken out. In 2023, Judge was in the first year of a $360 million deal with the Yankees and didn't want to jeopardize that.
Now, he's officially taking over for Mike Trout as the captain for Team USA. In his first-ever appearance with the team, he will lead a group of America's best baseball players.
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He will try to help the American team get revenge on Japan. The Japanese team, led by Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, won the championship when Ohtani struck out Trout to end the ninth inning in the decisive game.
When Aaron Judge explained why he snubbed the WBC
With two MVPs under his belt now, Aaron Judge is one of the most accomplished players in the baseball world. As a result, he is also one of the best but has never competed in a World Baseball Classic.
He had the chance coming off an MVP season in early 2023 to play, but he declined. When admitting he was open to it now, the Yankees star said this via FOX Sports:
"If I sign with the Giants, sign with the Padres, sign somewhere else, I'd rather be—what's more important to me is getting to know my teammates, my coaches. Get a feel for that. I didn't want to mess that up by being in the World Baseball Classic for four weeks, and then all of a sudden, I show up for the last two weeks of spring or whatever. That was my main focus. But now, I'll be here for quite a long time."
He nearly signed with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, which would've changed things. Judge also said that Team USA fell short of its goal that year, which is why he might be open to playing. He has now confirmed that he will play next year.
