Yankees’ Aaron Judge cites ‘bigger ultimate goal’ for skipping World Baseball Classic

While Team USA has a stacked roster for the World Baseball Classic, it’s missing one of the top American baseball players in Aaron Judge.

The New York Yankees slugger just had one of the best seasons of all time, blasting a new American League record 62 home runs while just narrowly missing out on the Triple Crown.

The American League MVP, though, has opted to sit out next month’s WBC after signing a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in the Bronx. He was also named the 16th captain in franchise history, the first since Derek Jeter, who played in the WBC in 2006 and 2009.

“It would be an honor to represent my country and play in that,” Judge told FOX Sports. “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.

“My focus is on New York and, especially being named captain, I didn’t want to miss any time at spring training. There’s so many young guys here that I’ve only seen on Twitter or the prospect reports. I want to get a chance to be around these young guys and get to know them and kind of show them what we do here.”

The United States won the last World Baseball Classic in 2017, the same season Judge hit 52 home runs en route to being named the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. Giancarlo Stanton was a member of that 2017 squad, and he echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

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“I want to get ready for the season, and I just want to have a healthy season, really,” Stanton said. “It’s one of the most fun baseball experiences that I’ve had, so I wouldn’t want to miss that unless there’s a bigger ultimate goal that I need to get to.

“He had a wild offseason, a wild year,” Stanton said of Judge. “As successful as it was, it does take a toll on you too. Having a chill, relaxing spring, making sure you get everything right for the long year is just as important, too.”

Three Yankees (Gleyber Torres of Venezuela, Jonathan Loáisiga of Nicaragua and Kyle Higashioka of the U.S.) will play in the WBC. Nestor Cortes of the U.S. opted out due to a hamstring injury, and the Yankees turned down often-injured Luis Severino’s request to play for the Dominican Republic.