Aaron Judge is open to playing in 2026 World Baseball Classic: 'We gotta win it'
TAMPA, Fla. — We all remember it.
Two years ago, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani faced off in the at-bat of a lifetime before Team Japan rushed onto the field to claim its third World Baseball Classic title. Team USA had the tying run on base with no outs in the ninth inning when Ohtani, moonlighting as the Samurai Japan closer, induced a double play, struck out Trout, and closed the book on a tournament that was nothing short of epic.
Maybe next time Team USA will get a little help from one of the most talented sluggers in baseball history. He's certainly open to it.
"I think that would be pretty fun," Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge told FOX Sports on Wednesday. "It just depends. See where I'm at in my career at that point. Hopefully they still want me."
Judge will be entering his age-34 season at this time next year, which is when the 2026 WBC is scheduled to take place. Rosters will not be finalized until next February.
If Judge does agree to play, it would be his first time participating in the international event.
"It would be cool to represent your country," Judge said. "[Team USA] made it to the finals, but they didn't win it. So we gotta win it. We'll see. We'll see."
A couple of Judge's teammates are also interested in suiting up for their countries. Infielder Jazz Chisholm said he would play for Great Britain in next year's WBC. Shortstop Anthony Volpe was asked to play for Team Italy in the 2023 WBC, but he said he would only ever play for Team USA, and that he would love to participate in next year's event. Two years ago, the Yankees had three players participating in the WBC, including Gleyber Torres, Kyle Higashioka, and Jonathan Loáisiga.
Judge was recruited to join Team USA's roster in the winter of 2022, but he was a little busy navigating his own free agency at the time. Plus, he had just finished a grind of a 2022 campaign; hitting 62 home runs with the media and fan frenzy that accompanied breaking a historic record can take a toll on anyone.
"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," Judge said. "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."
When the two-time MVP award winner eventually signed a nine-year deal with the Yankees and was named captain in December of that year, his main priority became spending time with his teammates. Specifically, he wanted to make sure he got to know the prospects in the organization, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge felt an added responsibility as captain to come early to spring training and coach up the team's younger players.
The circumstances are different now, and it's safe to say Team USA will want Judge's bat in the lineup. Even without him, manager Mark DeRosa piloted the most star-studded roster in WBC history. In 2023, Team USA's 30-man roster featured 21 All-Stars and four MVPs, including Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt and Clayton Kershaw. Though they came close two years ago, Team USA's last and only WBC championship was won in 2017. The first three installments of the tournament, which began in 2006, were won by Japan (twice) and the Dominican Republic.
Team USA should be hungry to reclaim its championship and trim the gap between Japan. Like last time, big names participating in the event could create a ripple effect throughout Major League Baseball. We already know Judge wants to see Team USA lift the trophy. Maybe next spring it will be his at-bat that we'll remember for years to come.
Deesha Thosar is a MLB reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for four years as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Aaron Judge New York Yankees Major League Baseball
recommended
Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
With World Cup exactly 1 year out, USMNT legends say pressure is turned up a notch
The United States Men's National Soccer Team will be the home squad in next year's World Cup, and they could make a big splash. Eleven of the 16 host stadiums in next year's tournament, which begins exactly one year from Wednesday, are in the United States, with New Jersey's MetLife Stadium hosting the final. After 1994, Major League Soccer was born, and it goes without saying that the immediate rise of soccer's popularity in the country was exponential. But it's seemingly hit a wall in recent years as the USMNT hasn't exactly given Americans a chance to grasp on. The squad got into the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2014 but failed to even qualify for the tournament in 2018. The USMNT returned to the Round of 16 three years ago but couldn't get out of the Copa América group stage on their own home soil last year. Team USA legend Landon Donovan, though, feels that soccer is "secure" in the country, even if Team USA disappoints, and its popularity can only go up from here. "There's going to be a lot of pressure, for sure, on this team. You play a World Cup in front of your home crowd, there's certainly going to be pressure. Is the state of soccer in trouble if they don't do well? No," Donovan said in a conference call with reporters this week. "There is a massive, massive opportunity [for this team]. In my experiences from the '02 World Cup, when we did really well, my life changed, and the trajectory of USA Soccer changed a little bit." But then again, Donovan scored one of the most famous goals in United States soccer history: his goal in stoppage time against Algeria put the U.S. through the group stage for the first time since 2002. "In 2010, it was that on steroids when we had an iconic moment. So if this team can do one of two things, either go far and/or have an iconic moment or two, it will catapult soccer through the roof in this country." Alex Lasry, the CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee, offered similar sentiments, saying the global stars coming to the United States will be enough to grow the sport itself. "If it ends up being not what we're hoping, I don't think that's going to dampen what the World Cup means to the United States," Lasry told Fox News Digital at Jersey City's Liberty State Park, which is the home of the official 2026 World Cup fan festival and hosted a one-year countdown launch party on Wednesday. "I don't think it's going to dampen how that 6-, 7-, 8-year-old looks at it. Having [Lionel] Messi, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Christian] Pulisic, the stars of the sport here, is what's going to lead to that next generation of athletes saying, 'I want to be a part of that.'" Fellow USMNT alum Alexi Lalas took the other side of the coin. While agreeing with Donovan in that all it takes is one special moment to get the country latched on, he said he isn't letting this squad "off the hook." "This is a generation that, over the last 30-plus years, everybody has worked to make sure that they have everything they possibly need in terms of the opportunities and the resources they have; and with that comes higher expectations and fair expectations," Lalas said. "Whoever is ultimately on that field next summer, I hope they recognize the opportunity and responsibility to further the game. What [does that look] like? It can come in a lot of different forms. But when that final whistle blows for the U.S. team, you want to leave thinking, 'That was something I'm going to remember. That made me proud to not just be a soccer fan in the United States, but to be an American.'" "You've got to be ready for that and embrace that opportunity with both hands and make the most of it," he said. "I don't want to let them off the hook, because I think they can do things we haven't seen before. They need the soccer gods to smile, but every team in the World Cup needs a little bit of luck going forward. And over the next year, they're going to have to work at what's going on, and I think the attitude off the field, to make sure they maximize next summer." The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place in North America next year and will be featured on FOX Sports. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Yankees starter is erasing doubts and building All-Star buzz
Yankees starter is erasing doubts and building All-Star buzz originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Carlos Rodon Is Pitching Like an All-Star Again. And Took Notice The New York Yankees have spent the first half of 2025 juggling injuries, rehab assignments, and next-man-up pitching plans. But through it all, Carlos Rodon has been a rock of the rotation. Advertisement Now, the left-hander is getting national recognition to match his resurgence. included Rodon on its new list of players who could snap an All-Star drought this season. It would be his first Midsummer Classic nod since 2022. New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos RodonBrad Penner-Imagn Images And his first as a Yankee. Rodon's performance this season makes a strong case. He owns a 2.87 ERA, a 3.27 FIP, and a 10.9 K/9 rate, all his best marks since arriving in the Bronx. More importantly, he's been dominant when the Yankees have needed him most. With Gerrit Cole shut down for the year after Tommy John surgery and the Yankees still waiting for Luis Gil to make his 2025 debut, Rodon has stepped up. Over his last 10 starts, he's posted a 1.90 ERA, settling into the kind of rhythm the Yankees hoped for when they handed him a six-year, $162 million deal ahead of the 2023 season. Advertisement His beginnings in the Bronx were a disaster Between injuries and inconsistency, Rodon never looked like himself. And he certainly did not look like a $162-million pitcher. Even early this year, there were questions about whether he'd fully recapture the form that made him an All-Star with the White Sox in 2021 and the Giants in 2022. Now, midway through June, those questions are getting quieter — and Rodon is pitching louder. If he keeps this up, Yankee fans might finally see Rodon walk into an All-Star clubhouse again — this time wearing New York on his chest. Related: Former Yankees Arm is Emerging as Trade Deadline Fit to Return Related: Giancarlo Stanton's Rehab Surge Offers Hope For Weekend Return This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
2025 NBA mock draft: Sixers take Texas product Tre Johnson at No. 3
2025 NBA mock draft: Sixers take Texas product Tre Johnson at No. 3 The Philadelphia 76ers hold a lot of cards with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. What they do with that pick will essentially begin the draft as most people know what will happen with picks No. 1 and 2. The Sixers, at the moment, have a lot of eyes on them. They can either make a pick and add a good young player to their roster or they can trade the selection to move down on draft night and add more picks as well as acquire a win-now player. Many will make their moves dependent on what Philadelphia does early in this draft. A mock draft performed by CBS Sports has the Sixers making a selection in the form of Texas scorer Tre Johnson: Some believe Philadelphia could move this pick for a veteran given where former MVP Joel Embiid is in his career. That's understandable. But if the Sixers do execute the pick, they shouldn't let the presence of talented young guards like Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain on their roster steer them away from Johnson, the player I believe is the third best prospect available. The one-and-done standout from Texas led all freshmen in scoring while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range on 6.8 attempts per contest. Impressive numbers, all around. And most of them are the type of numbers that should translate to the next level. Johnson shot 39.7% from deep in his freshman season with the Longhorns while averaging 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. The Sixers could always use another player who can handle the ball along with being able to score at a high level. That's what works in today's NBA. A player needs to be able to do multiple things and Johnson does that.
