WBC sounds fun I'm already excited about Judge's word, Dream Team's return match, and I'm excited to face Ohtani
Feb 20, 2025
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This is because Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, the best home run hitter in the world, expressed his desire to participate in the WBC.
In an interview with FOX Sports on the 20th (Korea time), Judge said "I think it will be quite fun." I'll have to see how it goes and where my career is at that point, but hopefully people will want me. It would be a wonderful thing to represent the country" he said.
He then said "We the United States went to the final in 2023 but did not win. So we have to win. Let's keep an eye on it." Along with participating in the WBC, he also expressed his hope to win the title.
Judge doesn't have a WBC career yet. Ahead of the fifth tournament in March 2023, the U.S. national team asked Judge to participate, but Judge, who re-signed the FA with the Yankees at the time, refused, saying he had no time to take over as the team's captain. Judge, who signed a nine-year, $360 million contract, did not have any special injuries, but he judged that the team's spring training was more important because it was the first season of the big deal.
Judge said "Even if I signed with the Giants, Padres, or other teams at the time, it would have been more difficult to participate. Because what is important to me is to get to know my colleagues and coaches. I want you to understand how I feel."I participated in the WBC, spent four weeks, came back to spring training camp for two more weeks, and I didn't want to spoil myself and the team. That was my main idea.'
However, he said, `But now I've been with the Yankees for quite a while now,' adding that the environment for participation has been created.
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As Judge expressed his intention to participate, the U.S. is more likely to set up its best power in the WBC next year. In 2023, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Bobby Witt Jr., and Trey Turner were close to the strongest, but the pitchers were not. Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, Nick Martinez and Miles Mykolas were among the starters, but the best pitchers of the time, including Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Corbyn Burns and Max Scherzer, were reluctant to participate for one reason or another.
However, considering that Judge, who has a two-time MVP record of AL home runs, has no small impact on top-class players from the U.S., it could be a "wind" participation in WBC. Ahead of the 2023 tournament, Bryce Harper expressed regret that he couldn't participate in the call with Trout due to Tommy John Surgery, but he promised to participate in the next tournament together. Trout was the leader of the U.S. national team at the time.
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Of course, Japan, which won the WBC three times, is the target of the U.S. overthrow. Japan, the defending champion, always participated in the WBC with the best power. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Rocky Sasaki, Yu Darvish, and Shota Imanaga all participated in 2023 as the strongest members of all time, and the lineup also included a large number of major league and NPB star players such as Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, Kensuke Kondo, Tetsuto Yamada and Hotaka Yamakawa. Japan has always been a dream team.
This is why the confrontation between the U.S. and the Japanese dream team is already drawing attention. In the 2023 WBC final, Ohtani took the mound as the closing pitcher in the ninth inning, striking out Trout and roaring to secure the championship. If the two teams meet again in the final in March 2026, Ohtani's opponent could be a jersey this time.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
