Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge addressed his Team USA teammates ahead of their first workout for the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix on Monday. Judge, who has played on seven All-Star teams over a decade-long Major League career, noted the exceptional talent present in the room.
“The room has a presence,” Judge said. “I think that’s what I felt when I stood up there. Just a presence in this room. We can talk about the players, but look at our coaching staff, too. The whole coaching staff, you’ve got All-Stars, Silver Sluggers, World Series champs. [Pitching coach Andy] Pettitte, one of the best postseason pitchers ever. Some of the best baseball players ever to play the game in one room.”
Judge expressed appreciation for being able to address and interact with his fellow players and coaches. “It was pretty cool to get a chance to address them and talk with them. It’s just an honor. That’s kind of what I kind of started out with. It’s just an honor to be here in front of you and be wearing the same uniform as you guys.”
Adapting from Yankees pinstripes to representing Team USA required some adjustment for Judge. He remarked on seeing his name on a different jersey and spoke about embracing his role as captain as Team USA aims for its first WBC gold since 2017.
Judge did not initially plan to make a speech but was encouraged by Cy Young Award winners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes during the offseason to prepare remarks before Team USA’s Pool B opener against Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston.
His message focused on sacrifice and mutual support among teammates over the coming weeks: “That’s one thing I tried to say in the meeting,” Judge said. “Just dive into everybody. Dive into the guy next to you. Get to know him. Ask questions. I think that’s the quickest way, especially when it starts getting real out there on the field. [If] we’re down, tough situation, we know we have each other’s back. We can trust each other. I know the guy next to me is going to do what he needs to win. We’re going to end up doing something special here in a couple weeks.”
Team USA will play exhibition games against the Giants and Rockies before beginning pool play Friday in Texas.
Judge also mentioned how recent successes by U.S hockey teams at the 2026 Winter Olympics inspired members of Team USA: “The Olympics got us hyped up a little bit, especially with the hockey team,” Judge said. “The hockey team making the run they did, the men’s and women’s. The boys are juiced. We’ve got a whole group chat about it. We were going back and forth. [Manager Mark DeRosa] and [general manager] Mike [Hill], all these guys that put this team together, man. The room is filled with talent, but I think these are some of the hardest-working guys in the league. To get all those guys in the room feeding off each other, it’s going to be fun once we get out there.”
Reflecting on leadership roles throughout his career, Judge said: “It’s definitely up there,” Judge said regarding captaining Team USA alongside leading the Yankees franchise.“I never played for Team USA.I never did any of that growing up ,so getting a chance to do it now and be captain with team that we have ,the team that we put together ,it ’s definitely up there .Captain of Yankees is No .1 still in my heart ,but getting chance be captain for your country is hard describe .”
