Aaron Judge will be the U.S. captain at next year’s World Baseball Classic, the same role the two-time American League Most Valuable Player fills with the New York Yankees.

Aaron Judge recalls watching from home while Mike Trout led Team USA onto the field in the most recent World Baseball Classic finals, proudly carrying a flagpole flying the stars and stripes across his right shoulder.

Before Team USA manager Mark DeRosa named Aaron Judge captain of his squad for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, he ask Angels veteran Mike Trout for permission to give the Yankees slugger that title. “He’s the one,” Trout told DeRosa.