New York Yankees star Aaron Judge knows a thing or two about big moments. Since his promotion to the majors in 2016, Judge has made the playoffs eight times as a member of the Yankees. He helped his team reach the World Series in 2024, where it fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
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But none of those postseason games — including the five World Series contests — compared to the atmosphere at the World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
Following Team USA’s narrow 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic — which ended on a controversial call — Judge called the World Baseball Classic “bigger and better than the World Series.”
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That could raise some eyebrows among the Yankee faithful, who haven’t seen their favorite team win a World Series championship since 2009. For that fan base, that’s essentially an eternity.
Judge has done plenty over his career to put the Yankees in a spot to accomplish that goal. The 33-year-old carries an absurdly strong .294/.413/.615 slash line over his career and has been one of the best players in the game during that period.
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His playoff performances, however, have been somewhat muted. Judge carries a lower .236/.346/.476 slash line across 65 playoff games. He struggled mightily during that five-game World Series vs. the Dodgers, going just 4-for-23 against Los Angeles.
If the pressure of the World Baseball Classic is affecting Judge, he’s not showing it yet. Team USA’s captain has a .261/.414/.565 slash line through six games. That’s down compared to Judge’s regular-season numbers, but still strong.
Team USA will need Judge to come through for just a few more at-bats. Following Sunday’s thrilling win over the Dominican Republic, Team USA advanced to the World Baseball Classic final for the third-straight time. It will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Venezuela and Italy.
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USA is looking for redemption this time around after losing to Japan in 2023. As Team USA’s captain, the pressure is on Judge to rally his team one more time and reclaim the title.
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