Inside The Pinstripes

No One's Slamming Yankees' Aaron Judge's Speech Now

Aaron Judge won’t deliver a Hollywood-type speech for the New York Yankees or Team USA, but he doesn’t need to.
Joseph Randazzo|
Mar 6, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States right fielder Aaron Judge (99) smiles during batting practice before the game against Brazil at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Mar 6, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States right fielder Aaron Judge (99) smiles during batting practice before the game against Brazil at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

Mark DeRosa has been vocal about the guy he wanted first for Team USA. It was the captain, Aaron Judge, who, during his tenure with the New York Yankees, has been one of the great leaders in American sports. He leads by example, on and off the field, and that shows by the way his teammates respect and talk about him.

It's why, when the cadence of Judge's speech before pool play began in the World Baseball Classic was put into question, the whole thing was ridiculous. KFC from Barstool did his usual Yankee-hating schtick, calling it the most boring pump-up speech he'd ever seen.

Craig Carton, who made his return to WFAN this year, said those usual Yankee June Swoons make sense now after hearing that. Granted, Carton's take comes from less of a Yankee-hating stance, and more just Carton being Carton.

Then, of course, there were the usual social media jabs at Judge. Faceless internet accounts came out en masse to denigrate Judge's leadership abilities. You can see all of that from the comments.

The tale of the WBC has yet to be told for the United States, and neither Great Britain nor Brazil is a worthy opponent given the talent level, but if the United States loses, it won't be because of a speech. It will be because they got beaten by better teams, and nobody would be surprised if they fell to Japan again in the finals. Japan has won the tournament three times already.

There is still time before the finals, but so far, Judge's teammates have made it clear he’s their leader. Here, Judge is celebrating with Pete Crowe-Armstrong and Roman Anthony. It's akin to how Judge celebrates wins with his teammates over on River Avenue, though this version of celebration has a more patriotic flair.

Then you have the budding friendship between Bryce Harper and Judge. Harper is all but swooning over Judge in the pictures and videos of them together. There was this between he and Harper.

There was this as well.

Even some Phillies fans were a bit perturbed by the glow on Harper's face when Judge is around.

Harper doesn't have an opt-out, as this post implies, but the point remains. Harper would be the alpha dog in most any clubhouse, but there's a clear love for Judge there.

It didn't take long for his teammates to gravitate towards Judge. How could they not? Judge may not be able to craft a speech worthy for Hollywood, but does that even matter? Unless your name is Ray Lewis, most who try are just cosplaying as leaders. Funny enough, Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave more of a rah-rah speech, saying that Great Britain would shock the world, but the captain and his teammates put any Cinderella runs to bed very fast.

Judge is the type to lead by example. So, it should come as a shock to nobody that in his first at-bat, he homered to dead center field. In game two, he drove in some runs as well.

If the United States wins the World Baseball Classic, the discourse over the speech will seem even more ridiculous. If they don't, that point remains. Especially since so far, Judge has carried his weight thus far in the first two games, and even his outs have been scary for opposing pitchers.

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Joseph Randazzo
JOSEPH RANDAZZO

Joe Randazzo is a reference librarian who lives on Long Island. When he’s not behind a desk offering assistance to his patrons, he writes about the Yankees for Yankees On SI. Follow him as @YankeeLibrarian on X and Instagram.

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