Aaron Judge Will Captain Team USA In World Baseball Classic 2026
It’s another illustrious notch on the superstar’s baseball belt. It was announced on Monday that New York Yankee’s Aaron Judge will captain Team USA in the World Baseball Classic 2026. He is the first player to commit to representing Team USA in the 2026 Classic, and he will make his WBC debut. USA manager Mark DeRosa made the announcement on MLB Network, with Judge joining MLB Central to share his thoughts.
Judge had missed out on the 2023 WBC because he had just finished a grueling negotiation with the Yankees. The negotiation netted him a nine-year, $360 million contract with the team, ending his free agency period. He decided to forego the 2023 WBC to be with his team. He explained his reasons saying:
“It was tough [watching in 2023], especially looking at the group they had,” Judge admitted. “But I felt my first responsibility was to the Yankees. I just signed a new deal, just got named team captain. I wanted to be a big part of getting the Yankees back to where they needed to be. Now after we have another deep run this year and finish the job, it’ll be fun to go out there and represent our country.”
So, the WBC captaincy was handled by the Angels’ Mike Trout. However, Judge has no such restrictions on him this time around and he’s looking forward to handling his captain duties in 2026. During a press conference at Yankee Stadium today Judge said:
“I’ve always wanted to play for Team USA. Watching the last couple of WBCs, what a great experience,” Judge said. “I’ve been telling everybody here, I told everybody a couple years ago that I want to be a part of it… We’re going to have an exciting group. They had a great group last time, and I’m just excited to be a piece of that.”
Aaron Judge Will Captain Team USA In World Baseball Classic 2026
Team manager Mark DeRosa had glowing praise for Judge, stating:
“I think [Judge is] the perfect face to be the captain of Team USA,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “In a lot of ways, he’s certainly one of the faces of baseball; such a magnetic personality that people gravitate to, that people around the game love and respect. I think he’ll be great.”
WBC games will be played in San Juan, Tokyo, Houston and Miami, with the semifinals and finals to be held at loanDepot Park, home of the Marlins. For the first round, Team USA will be in Pool B, alongside Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. Those games will take place in Houston, Texas, beginning on March 6, 2026. The two clubs that finish at the top of Pool B will then advance to the quarterfinals. The Championship Game will be played March 17, 2026 at loanDepot Park in Miami.
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