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Another version of Team USA, this time on the baseball diamond, is preparing to take home a gold medal as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) begins this week.
The United States has done well in recent sporting events, including the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, which defeated Canada at the Milan Cortina Games last month. Both games ended with a goal in overtime, with Megyn Keller’s backhand winner for the women and Jack Hughes’ heroics for the men.
U.S. baseball team captain Aaron Judge, a three-time MVP of the New York Yankees, made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, where he admitted those hockey performances were getting his teammates excited for the WBC.
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees speaks to the media after being named captain of the 2026 WBC Team USA during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday, April 14, 2025 in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos)
“The guys were excited,” he said when McAfee asked him what he thought about Hughes’ goal in particular. “Hughes, man, we sent a lot of pictures of Hughes in the group text. It was great.
“It’s cool that this snowballed. Just the excitement we had when I was with the Yankees, and then with the group text, the guys got fired up. Now, it’s the WBC, we get a chance to wear the red, white and blue and copy what they did.”
Judge added that it was a “special career” that both men and women had.
Of course, Judge hopes his two weeks away from the Yankees will be worth it as the United States seeks revenge for finishing with silver during the 2023 WBC, losing to Japan in the championship game.
Judge’s teammate, first baseman Bryce Harper, shared the same sentiment as his captain. Harper has been wearing the Stars and Stripes for a while, having played for the national under-18 team in 2008.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper looks on after being ejected for arguing with a controlled swing during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
He announced that he would play for the 2023 WBC team, but was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that prevented him from playing.
He is now healthy and excited to represent his country once again.
“I learned when I was young that when you put America in the hat, it’s about us,” he explained when it was his turn to wear the headphones on McAfee’s show. “That’s why it’s just America and not America. It’s about us. So, for our team, it’s about everyone in that clubhouse. It doesn’t matter where you come from, who you play for, what you have, we don’t care because every day we come here, it’s for the good of America. What we’re doing for the people, who we represent.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees speaks to the media after being named captain of the 2026 WBC Team USA during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday, April 14, 2025 in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos)
“I’m proud to be an American. I’m so happy to be in this clubhouse with all these guys and there’s no greater feeling than walking out there, hearing the national anthem blasting through the speakers. Knowing what you stand for.”
Team USA begins its WBC schedule against Brazil on March 6 at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.
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