Why is Aaron Judge not taking part in World Baseball Classic? Yankees star's participation status explored 

New York Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge decided not to be a part of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. This offseason, Judge signed a massive nine-year, $360 million contract with the Bronx Bombers, but much to the happiness of Yankees fans, he decided to skip the prestigious tournament, which is set to begin in March.

"My focus is on New York and especially being named captain, I didn’t want to miss any time at spring training," Judge said. "There’s so many young guys here that I’ve only seen on Twitter, or the prospect reports. I want to get a chance to be around these young guys and get to know them and kind of show them what we do here."

Fans anticipated that the talented right fielder would represent Team USA after his outstanding 2022 AL MVP-winning season. Unfortunately, for baseball fans, Judge decided against it.

Since being selected captain, Judge, according to Aaron Boone, has an increased need to be completely present and contribute to making younger players feel at ease at Yankees camp.

The manager claimed that the Yankees totally left the decision up to the players to participate in the competition. Boone claimed that Judge and Giancarlo Stanton's commitment to the club would not have been compromised had they chosen to participate in the WBC '23.

Aaron Judge is deeply committed to the Yankees

Aaron Judge has selected his contact rate and workload management as two areas he'd like to improve on as the new season gets underway. Judge is still committed to improving as a player.

Although most of his teammates saw the announcement as a formality because they already saw him in a leadership position, Judge does not anticipate that the captain's title will have a significant impact on his day-to-day training.

"Heads up! Aaron Judge is taking BP" - Bryan Hoch

Since 2009, the Yankees have gone without a World Series victory and have never advanced past the ALCS. Although Judge has been the franchise's face for a while, his new contract and role as team captain comes with even higher expectations.