All Rise for WBC

BY KEVIN KERNAN

The World Baseball Classic is good for Aaron Judge, good for the Yankees and good for the Olympics. Let me explain.

Knowing Judge so well since he first arrived as a pinstriped rookie 10 years ago – yes MLB time flies – I believe the best thing that could happen to Judge this spring is to get away from Yankee World for nearly three weeks and surround himself with baseball royalty.

Judge has had to carry the burden of the Yankees on his massive shoulders for years and that is enough to wear down anyone — even someone who is 6’7” and 282 pounds. Besides clouting 368 home runs over his career, driving in 830 runs and scoring 873 runs while batting .294 (yes, I am dealing in back of the baseball card numbers) Judge has had to be there every day to defend the Yankee shield, an organization that used to be synonymous with World Championships but has not won a title since 2009 – seven years before Aaron Judge showed up in the Bronx – an organization that has lost its swagger a bit.

Just think of the weight of all that, plus the magnitude of producing on a nine-year, $360 million contract.

What Judge has done is simply remarkable on every level and over the last four years he has been at his best, averaging 59 home runs and 116 RBIs while batting .311; again, back of the baseball card numbers, no expected batting average in this space. Last year Judge earned his third MVP, hitting .331 and bashing 53 home runs while knocking in 114 — all that power and production while hitting 88 points above league average.

Even Captain America needs a break at some point and that is why this World Baseball Classic is just what the doctor ordered.

That is just the start of it. Aaron Judge had to defend the Yankees every day.

Hal Steinbrenner is not in that clubhouse. Brian Cashman meets occasionally with the media, but it is Judge who is there every game as The Captain. He has never wavered.

Aaron Judge was raised right, and he knows what is expected of him on an everyday basis. If the Yankees fall short, he has to explain why; just the thought of having to defend the Hal-Cash makeup of the team every year is a burden. But it all comes with the job that Aaron Judge has signed up to do for all that money.

Still, even Captain America needs a break at some point and that is why this World Baseball Classic is just what the doctor ordered. For nearly three weeks in the middle of spring training, it is not about the moves Hal-Cash made or didn’t make. For three weeks it is not about being manhandled by the Blue Jays in the ALDS. For nearly three weeks it is not about the expectations of this season after not making it back to the World Series. It is not about watching the Dodgers win two straight World Championships and looking to go for three in a row, something that hasn’t been done since the Core Four Yankees won in 1998, ’99 and 2000.

And those Yankees didn’t just win; they dominated.

In 1998 the Yankees swept the Padres 4-0 in the World Series. They followed that up in 1999 with a sweep of the Braves. Then in 2000 they crushed the Mets in five games. So, in those combined World Series of 1998, ’99 and 2000, Jeter’s Yankees produced a 12-1 record. Talk about domination.

By the way, the Braves team the Yankees swept in 1999 featured five Hall of Fame players in Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones and the three pitching legends: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

Judge was born on April 26, 1992. A few months later, the smart baseball people running the Yankees drafted a skinny shortstop out of Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a kid named Derek Jeter, Future Captain of the World Championship Yankees.

Aaron Judge is still chasing his first World Series title. Who knows if he will ever win a World Series, but the expectations are there every year, that is life as a Yankee. Over time, though, the Yankees have lost a bit of that swagger because of the way they do business now; they don’t do it like the Dodgers. They are running back pretty much the same team that was eliminated by the Blue Jays in four games in the ALDS, with some pitching improvements, if Gerrit Cole comes back from Tommy John surgery as a force.

Will it be enough to get the Yankees where they haven’t been since 2009, seven years before Aaron Judge became a Yankee? That is so long ago that the man who led the Yankees in home runs (39) and RBIs (122) that season, Mark Teixeira, just won the Republican House primary in Texas in the 21st Congressional District. An aside, I always enjoyed my clubhouse talks with Teixeira, especially when he ventured into the world of politics, so this is not just something that happened overnight.

There will be extreme pressure on Judge to perform wonders in the WBC in March as opposed to doing it with the Yankees throughout the season and in October.

Judge unloaded a 453-foot home run off left-hander Kyle Freeland on Wednesday in Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, in a 14-4 exhibition wipeout of the Rockies. Team USA starts real WBC action on Friday against Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston.

Later in Wednesday’s game all you had to do was watch Judge having a terrific conversation along the dugout railing with Bryce Harper to realize how much he is enjoying this experience. This is all new for Judge. He was not like Harper who was on the USA 16U National Team in 2008. Young Aaron Judge never made any of those elite world traveling teams representing the USA. He will turn 34 next month. This is his time to represent USA.

“The room has a presence,’’ Judge told reporters of the Team USA clubhouse. It sure does.

A short clip of Judge’s speech to the team was put out on social media the other day, and those looking for clicks or sports talk fodder immediately roasted Judge, but you can be sure that every player and co ach on Team USA has a deep appreciation for the USA Captain. Also, Judge is not about to let the media know what his total message to the team is but you can be sure it was something for the players to take in pride in and utilize as they try to beat other top teams of the world, including defending champion Japan – led by Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to win the 2023 WBC Championship and back then he was an Angel, like Trout. This Ohtani is a two-time defending World Series champion with the Dodgers, so his game is at an even higher championship level now.

Having Judge thinking about and starring for Team USA instead of the Yankees is a good break mentally for him. It is also good for him to get away from spring training in Tampa and go to Arizona for a few days. Players love playing in the Cactus League. Having covered both the Grapefruit League and the Cactus League for many years, hands down, life is much better in Arizona for spring training and that is another plus for Judge.

This is a win-win situation across the board for Judge.

All the players feel pride in wearing USA across their chest, but you can see it is really something special for Judge  – and he has said so in multiple media interviews. Team USA has only won the WBC once, in 2017.

I thought from the short clip I heard, Judge made a great point in his speech to teammates saying, “Lean into each other.’’

To me, and I covered three WBCs, that is the key. That is what Team Japan does well. The players lean into one another. So unlike talk radio pundits and social media keyboard warriors, I think Judge nailed it in his speech and I’m sure there will be much more leadership behind closed doors from him.

And you could see from his dugout conversation with Harper that Judge was walking the talk, he was “leaning into’’ Harper to help Team USA in this adventure.

Judge now has the chance to take a deep breath away from the Yankee spotlight and enjoy the Team USA spotlight. With trips to Houston and then Miami this team will have time to bond, and win or lose this will prove to be a valuable experience for Judge and the other members of Team USA, including his Yankee teammate closer David Bednar. This is the kind of experience Bednar needs, and the two Yankees will be sure to grow closer from this WBC journey.

As for the 2028 Olympics, they will be here before you know it in Los Angeles and that will be a good thing for MLB.

Baseball must allow players to compete in those Olympics and come up with an All-Star break plan that allows it. This is all set up on a silver platter in 2028 because the Olympics are right here in Team USA La-La Land and certainly everyone is aware of the power of winning Olympic Gold, shown by the men’s and women’s hockey teams.

Those NHL stars have a lifetime memory and gold medals around their necks. In 2028 MLB is going to need some help getting fans back because the 2027 lockout will be one ugly experience. Baseball can build up some good faith on the Olympic experience at Dodger Stadium.

And just maybe, Aaron Judge will wear Team USA on his chest once again that summer.