Aaron Judge is trading pinstripes for a plain jersey with red, white and blue letters.
“Getting the chance to wear that across my chest is going to be pretty powerful,” Judge, the captain for Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and the national team for the United States, said of the World Baseball Classic. “I think a lot of people have a lot of pride for their country.”
After losing 3-2 in the 2023 WBC final when Japan’s Shohei Ohtani ended the game by striking out Mike Trout, the Americans will be trying for their first championship since 2017 when 20 nations compete for the event’s sixth championship starting Thursday.
Australia plays Taiwan at the Tokyo Dome in the opener, and action starts the next day in Houston, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miami will host the final again, with that matchup set for March 17.
A much-improved pitching staff for the U.S. includes Mason Miller, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, and the batting order likely will include Judge — a three-time American League MVP — Cal Raleigh, Kyle Schwarber and Bobby Witt Jr.