Team USA has revealed their captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and it is none other than two-time AL MVP and current Yankees‘ captain Aaron Judge. The two-time AL MVP will participate in the WBC for the first time in his career after stating an interest in playing in the tournament this offseason. Off to another incredible start, he is arguably the best player in the sport, and the Americans will get a gargantuan boost to their offense with his inclusion.
During the 2023 WBC, Team USA made it to the Championship Round of the tournament, dropping the title game to Team Japan who went undefeated on their way to a Gold Medal. With the addition of Aaron Judge, manager Mark DeRosa is hoping that they’ll be able to make it back to that title game and take home the American’s second Gold Medal in their last three tournament appearances.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Will Play in the World Baseball Classic as America’s Captain
This serves as a dual announcement for the Yankees’ captain, who will now officially participate in the World Baseball Classic after not doing so in 2023. He may have been able to turn the tide for Team USA, who fell by a score of 3-2 to Team Japan in their Championship matchup. They’ve been to the title game in two-straight years, taking home Gold in 2017 and winning Silver in 2023, but they’re hungry to get their second WBC Championship this time around.
Commitments for the tournament have increased across the sport as a result of its growing popularity, as the United States initially struggled to get domestic support for the global event. It led to disappointing showings in 2006, 2009, and 2013, with Team Japan and the Dominican Republic taking home titles in the first three iterations of the World Baseball Classic.
During the 2017 WBC, the United States saw a boom in participation, trotting out their best roster up to that point and winning the tournament as a result. While COVID robbed fans of what should have been a 2020 WBC, the effects of that tournament victory were seen in 2023, as the United States rolled out an even more star-studded group.
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New entrants such as Mike Trout, Pete Alonso, Bobby Witt Jr., and Kyle Schwarber were able to provide superstar power to the American’s offense. Their pitching staff had the inclusions of frontline starters at the time such as Merrill Kelly, and they were supposed to get Nestor Cortes for the tournament before a nagging shoulder issue caused him to withdraw from the event. Devin Williams also participated in the WBC as a reliever and might do so again in 2025 barring an unexpected injury or a change in emotion towards the tournament.
Team USA is expected to be one of the biggest threats to Team Japan in this upcoming tournament, and with the addition of Aaron Judge, they just might go all the way in 2026. Only three countries lay claim to a WBC title, that being the aforementioned USA and Japan alongside the Dominican Republic, but that list could expand with how popular the tournament has become with MLB players.
Venezuela nearly knocked the Americans out in 2023, Mexico nearly upset Japan that same year and teams like Puerto Rico and Korea have gotten close but just fell short of a title.