Aaron Judge's Speech Firing Up Team USA Wasn't His Idea

Yankees captain gave voice to star-laden team's goals during Monday' workout.

Aaron Judge addresses his Team USA teammates before the start of WBC workouts. | MLB on X

It's getting real for members of Team USA with the World Baseball Classic opener vs. Brazil looming on Friday night. The tournament favorites got together for their first workout on Monday in Phoenix and got right to work trying to gel into a real team immediately.

When it came time for someone to say something, the biggest player in the room stepped up.

"Sacrifice for your family at home," said Aaron Judge. "You're sacrificing for your country and you're sacrificing for the brothers in the trenches with you every single day. That's what they all want us to do, fellas. You know we're down. We're beat up a little bit, man. You know, lean into each other, man. We're gonna lay it out on the line. And if we do that, we're bringing the gold home. I'm telling you."

Aaron Judge delivers a speech to Team USA as they get prepared for the WBC 🫡

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/bnx6oIxLzA

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It makes sense that Judge, arguably Team USA's best player and captain of the New York Yankees since 2022, would be the one to give voice to the squad's high aspirations. He's had to lead in incredibly demanding situations before and is someone everyone in the game respects.

As it turns out, though, he needed a little prodding to make such a public proclamation.

Per MLB.com, Judge revealed he wasn’t planning on making a speech on Monday, but did so after Cy Young Award winners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes reached out to him over the offseason to say it might be a good ideas if he prepared something.

This is a smart thought from arguably the two best pitchers in all of baseball, including the move to give Judge some time to think. Chanting 'speech, speech' in front of reporters and peer pressuring him into off-the-cuff remarks might not have gone so well.

As for the part about Team USA being beat up and down, that's technically true. Injuries to outfielder Corbin Carroll and pitcher Joe Ryan means others will have to step up. But on a roster this deep and skilled, those don't figure to be insurmountable obstacles.

Mark DeRosa will send Logan Webb out to the mound as action begins Friday night as the American look to make their sixth quarterfinals in six tries.

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