Jason Burgos
While he is one of the best baseball players on the planet, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge did not hit a home run with his first World Baseball Classic pep talk as the captain of Team USA.
In the NY Yankees’ storied history that is well over a century old, they have only had 16 players named as their captain. It is a rare fraternity that features some of the greatest players to ever play the game, including Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Three-time AL MVP Judge is the latest Pinstripes great to hold the honor.
That is why it wasn’t much of a surprise when Team USA manager Mark DeRosa decided to give Judge the same role for the 2026 WBC. The outfielder’s track record of winning is undeniable, and outside of Shohei Ohtani, many see him as MLB’s best player.
With the tournament set to start this week, the US roster is in Houston to get on the same page ahead of their opening game against Brazil on Friday. Unsurprisingly, the captain spoke to the team to talk about the mission ahead and motivate them to bring home a WBC title in a couple of weeks. Well, it seems his pep talk was not well-received by baseball fans on X.
Aaron Judge’s WBC speech gets mocked by baseball fans on X
The 33-year-old’s speech wasn’t bad per se. The NY Yankees captain made good points about the sacrifices needed to win the tournament, but it lacked the sort of fire some baseball fans wanted to see from the cap of Team USA. Leading to some hilarious and harsh responses from some on X.
“Aaron Judge’s WBC speech will have you ready to go for a brisk walk,” the Barstool Sports X account said. The company’s founder seconded the point when he wrote in a post, “worst speech ever.”
Below, you can get a look at some more unsatisfied commentary from baseball fans about Aaron Judge’s WBC speech.
