BRONX, NY — There’s a new Captain America and his name is Aaron Judge.
The New York Yankees’ face of the franchise Aaron Judge, a six-time All-Star and two-time MVP of the American League, received the exciting news Monday morning of being named Team USA’s captain for next year’s World Baseball Classic.
The newly named captain for Team USA in the 2026 WBC Aaron Judge + USA manager Mark DeRosa on Monday afternoon during a press conference at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Hector Beauchamp/Latino Sports
Previously watching from afar what many call the “World Cup of Baseball” through previous WBC installments, with his most memorable moments being highlights of Team USA’s 2017 WBC championship run such as—Adam Jones’ miraculous catch on Dominican Republic’s Manny Machado, Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run blast off of the D.R., and Marcus Stroman’s stellar pitching performances, to now being the captain and face of Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“Thinking about all the brave men and women that have fought for this country, and laid their lives down for us to get a chance to play a game… it’s a pretty humbling experience, so I’m happy to represent the U.S. and happy to be the captain.” – Aaron Judge
An effortless and simple decision made by USA’s manager Mark DeRosa, who contacted Los Angeles Angels’ superstar Mike Trout, the captain of Team USA in the 2023 WBC, for his input on the decision.
Aaron Judge and Mark DeRosa will be looking to take home Team USA’s second ever WBC title next year and first since the 2017 WBC – Image Credit: Hector Beauchamp/Latino Sports
“I reached out to (Mike) Trout yesterday, told him where we were going and he said, ‘he’s the one,’” explained DeRosa in a press conference alongside Judge at Yankee Stadium Monday afternoon before the Yankees defeated the Royals, 4-1, in the series opener of a three-game set.
“I couldn’t be more fired up for Aaron Judge to be the captain for Team USA.”
“We wanted to have him the last time (2023 WBC where USA lost to Japan in the championship). We knew he was going through the whole free agency process and we wanted to respect that. But when it came to this time, Aaron was a pretty easy choice.”
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani chatting in batting practice prior to the 2023 WBC championship – Image Credit: World Baseball Classic/MLB
The captain of the Yankees and now Team USA, Judge, 32, appearing in his first-ever World Baseball Classic, which is set for next March, also marking his first time representing the U.S. internationally in his baseball career, is already looking forward to wearing USA across his chest.
“I’m hoping for a long season this year, a very short offseason, and we’ll keep it rolling right into the WBC,” he said.
By no surprise, Judge has rolled into the 2025 regular season on a MVP-like pace, leading all of MLB currently with an OPS of 1.212.
Aaron Judge and MLB’s top superstars participating in the World Baseball Classic is significant for the sport around the globe – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
In addition, he is tied for MLB’s home run lead on the young season (6 HR) amongst six other players—Trout, Tyler Soderstrom, Kyle Schwarber, Wilmer Flores, Tommy Edman, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Slugging home runs on the diamond consistently and a grand slam off it on Monday as Judge was named Team USA’s captain for the 2026 WBC.
On what went behind the decision to commit to participating, Judge noted, “Just really talking to a lot of the guys, they talked about the atmosphere, the experience… it’s nothing like they’ve ever seen. Especially some guys that have never been in a playoff atmosphere, they were like, ‘this is the best baseball I have ever played.’
So now, I’m looking forward to that, looking forward to fighting with my guys and being in some high-packed situations.”
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