Rusty Weiss
New York Yankees slugger and three-time MVP Aaron Judge, serving as captain for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, says his squad is absolutely pumped up after the United States men’s and women’s hockey teams captured gold medals at the Winter Olympics last month.
Both squads defeated rival Canada in overtime thrillers — highlighted by Jack Hughes‘ heroics for the men and Megan Keller‘s golden goal for the women — and the baseball contingent took notice.
Appearing Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Judge revealed that images of Hughes’ game-winning goal flooded the team’s group chat, leaving everyone “fired up” and eager to build on the Olympic momentum.
“Boys were fired up,” he said. “Hughes, man, we sent so many pictures of Hughes in the group text. It was great.”
“It’s kinda cool that it’s going to snowball into this. Just the excitement we had when I was with the Yankees, and then with the group text, the boys were pumped up,” added Judge. “Now, it’s WBC, we get the chance to throw on the red, white, and blue and copy what they did.”
"Now we get a chance to throw on the red, white and blue and copy what they did."
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 2, 2026
Aaron Judge says there were tons of Jack Hughes pictures in the World Baseball Classic group chat after USA won the hockey gold medals
(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/QtEXU1HY3d
Aaron Judge Reveals Team USA Group Chat Exploded with Jack Hughes Photos After Olympic Hockey Golds
Judge called the hockey teams’ run “special” and noted the excitement is snowballing as the baseball roster prepares to represent the nation. Teammate Bryce Harper echoed the sentiment.
“I learned when I was young, when you put U.S. on our hats, it’s about us,” Harper said. “That’s why it’s only U.S. and not USA. It’s about us. So, for our team, it’s about everybody that’s in that clubhouse.”
“No matter where you came from, who you played for, what you got, we don’t care because every single day we come out here, it’s for the greater good of America.”
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Pittsburgh Pirates ace and reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes is also proudly waving the red, white, and blue. He, too, has been inspired by Team USA hockey.
“Yeah, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, all the golds that we won in the Olympics,” he said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re America. We’ve got to assert our dominance over everyone else. That’s what we do.”
“It’s gonna be fun. If USA wins, it’s what we do. Gotta keep it going.”
Team USA opens pool play against Brazil on March 6 at Daikin Park in Houston, aiming to capture the title and extend the recent wave of American success.