There was no one more qualified to be the captain of Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) than outfielder Aaron Judge, who plays that role for the New York Yankees and has won the AL MVP award in each of the last two seasons. The 33-year-old only hit .222 in the tournament, but he notched two homers, five RBIs, and an .845 OPS. He also threw Team Dominican Republic outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. out at third base from right field and made a diving catch on a fly ball hit by fellow Dominican outfielder Juan Soto in the USA's 2-1 semifinal win.
However, the USA lost to Team Venezuela 3-2 in the final, and Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The seven-time All-Star has now lost the World Series and the WBC final over the last year-and-a-half, as the Yankees fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games during the 2024 Series.
Judge wants to run it back with the USA squad, via MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
"Aaron Judge said he wants to participate in the next World Baseball Classic and the Olympics," Hoch reported on Friday.
"Any chance I get," the California native said.
MLB Has Chance to Continue WBC Momentum in Olympics
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
After being absent from the 2024 Olympics, baseball will return for the 2028 Games, which will be held in Los Angeles. The baseball tournament will be played at Dodger Stadium from July 13-19, but there's no guarantee that MLB players will be allowed to participate.
MLB players have never played in the Olympics due to the scheduling conflict with the regular season. However, Commissioner Rob Manfred was optimistic about changing that for 2028 after an owner's meeting in February, per MLB.com's Manny Randhawa.
“I think that we’re a lot closer to [an agreement] than the last time we talked about it,” he said. “There are some issues with the MLBPA [Players' Association] that we just need to resolve. I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in L.A. in 2028. I think we’re going to get over those issues.”
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between MLB and the MLBPA expires on Dec. 1, so the two sides could negotiate an arrangement in the next CBA that allows players to play in the 2028 Olympics as a part of the All-Star break. The MLB All-Star Game is typically played in July.
This would help continue baseball's global momentum, as a record 10.784 million people watched the 2026 WBC final, per MLB.com. This would also give the sport two major global competitions in the span of three years, as the next WBC will be in 2030, per CBS Sports.
If MLB players do compete in the Olympics, Judge will be a strong candidate to be the Team USA captain again.
