The 6th World Baseball Classic USA team wants to form the Avengers? Judge serves as Captain America

The sixth World Baseball Classic (WBC) will start in March next year, and the U.S. team announced on the 15th that Yankee star "Judge" Aaron Judge (Aaron Judge) will be the captain of the United States, which is also the first time that Judge has worn the national team jersey. Judge said in an interview today that he hopes that the last WBC captain of the United States and the Angels' "Trout" Trout (Mike Trout) can continue to play in next year's classic, "He and I have been defending in the outfield." ”

Judge serves as Captain America

After knocking out a record 62 hits in 2022, Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million extension with the Yankees later that season. In order to prepare for the new season, Judge politely declined to participate in the 2023 classic.

Judge will turn 33 on April 26, US time, and is now handpicked by Team USA coach De Rosa as captain of the United States, the first player to be officially selected for the US team. Judge laughed, "Take this opportunity before Mark is too old and Mark is willing to ask me." ”

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"It's a special thing to have the opportunity to represent our country." "It's really humbling to think of the brave men and women who fought for this country, even sacrificing their lives, to give us the opportunity to play here," Judge said in an interview today. ”

"Now, to be able to wear a jersey with 'USA' on it, to represent all the great people of our country, to represent the spirit of this country, is a rare opportunity that I haven't had since I was a kid, so I'm really looking forward to it." Judge said.

Yankees head coach Aaron Boone said, "I think [Judge] is the perfect candidate for Captain America, and in a way, he's definitely one of the biggest names in baseball, with a charisma, and a lot of love and respect, and I'm sure he's going to be great." ”

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However, De Rosa said, "If I just look at the fielders, I can probably put out five starting lineups that are willing to play. What we really need to finalize is the pitcher lineup. "Major league teams are relatively cautious about letting starting pitchers play in preseason classics.

The U.S. team will be in Group B for next year's classic, alongside Mexico, England, Brazil and Italy, and will play at the Daikin Stadium. The U.S. team lost to Shohei Ohtani's Japan team in the final of the last classic and finished as runners-up. The last time the U.S. won a classic was in 2017.