Team USA baseball team inspired by hockey wins before WBC, Aaron Judge says

Another version of Team USA, this time on the baseball diamond, is preparing to bring home a gold medal, as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is set to start this week. 

The U.S. has done well in recent sporting events, including the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, who both defeated Canada in the Milan Cortina Games last month. Both games ended with an overtime goal, with Megyn Keller’s backhand winning it for the women and Jack Hughes’ heroics for the men. 

Team USA baseball captain Aaron Judge, the three-time MVP for the New York Yankees, made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, where he admitted those hockey performances were getting his teammates fired up for the WBC. 

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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees speaks to the media after being named 2026 WBC Team USA captain 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)

“Boys were fired up,” he said when McAfee asked him his thoughts on Hughes’ goal in particular. “Hughes, man, we sent so many pictures of Hughes in the group text. It was great.

“It’s kinda cool that it’s going to snowball into this. Just the excitement we had when I was with the Yankees, and then with the group text, the boys were pumped up. Now, it’s WBC, we get the chance to throw on the red, white, and blue and copy what they did.”

Judge added that it was a “special run” both the men and women had. 

Of course, Judge is hoping his two weeks away from the Yankees will be well worth it, as the U.S. seeks revenge for finishing with the 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 some time now, having played for the U-18 national team in 2008. 

Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper looks on after getting ejected for arguing on a checked 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 he would play for the 2023 WBC team, but he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery which didn’t allow him to play. 

He’s healthy now and excited to represent his country once more. 

“I learned when I was young, when you put U.S. on our hats, it’s about us,” he explained when it was his turn to wear the headset on McAfee’s show. “That’s why it’s only U.S. and not USA. It’s about us. So, for our team, it’s about everybody that’s in that clubhouse. No matter where you came from, who you played for, what you got, we don’t care because every single day we come out here, it’s for the greater good of America. What we’re doing for the people, who we’re representing.

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees speaks to the media after being named 2026 WBC Team USA captain 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)

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“I’m proud to be American. I’m so happy to be in this clubhouse with all these guys and there’s no greater feeling than going out there, hearing the national anthem blare over the speakers. Knowing what you represent.”

Team USA begins its WBC schedule against Brazil on March 6 at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.  

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