New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is quite comfortably one of the best players born and raised in the United States.
He is not on their World Baseball Classic (WBC) roster, at least not for the 2023 edition.
He was certainly given the chance to feature on the team, but declined.
Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted some of the reasons why he opted to stay with the Bombers instead of representing his country.
“Aaron Judge said he might play in the next @WBCBaseball, ‘but right now for me, my focus is here,'” Hoch tweeted, quoting some of Judge’s remarks told to Fox Sports’ Deesha Thosar.
Aaron Judge said he might play in the next @WBCBaseball, “but right now for me, my focus is here." https://t.co/8Jpf20tinv
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) February 21, 2023
Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees over the winter.
He was the highest-paid player of the offseason, and deservedly so.
He was named the AL MVP winner for his efforts in 2022, and his leadership skills made him the most recent captain of the Yankees.
Here is Judge’s exact quote, from Thosar’s story:
“It would be an honor to represent my country and play in that. But my main goal is what I can do here in New York and what I can do to bring a championship back here. I think especially after signing a nine-year contract, for me, priorities are New York. Maybe four years down the road, hopefully I can still make the team and get an opportunity to play. But right now for me, my focus is here.”
For the Yankees, having Judge in camp early, setting an example, being the first one to arrive and the last one to leave, is important.
It’s important for him, too: that’s part of being a leader.
Being there for them is also big for Judge.
That’s why he is passing on this chance to represent his country at the biggest stage and hoping he may still be able to do it later down the road.
