World Baseball Classic will be 'a whole other level' for trio of USA superstars

For Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, playing in the World Baseball Classic might best be summed up with three words: pride, awe, intensity.

Pride, for the ability to represent the United States on a global stage. Awe, for the collection of baseball talent assembled around them. Intensity, for the opportunity to compete against the greatest players in the world.

These thoughts will be front and center for the Team USA cohorts as they each head into the tournament for the first time next month.

"I talked to a lot of guys that played a couple of years ago, and they said [there's] nothing like it," Judge, the Yankees slugger and Team USA captain, told MLB Network's Lauren Shehadi during a group interview. "They talk about playoff baseball or intense rivalry games -- they say this is on a whole other level."

Judge, like most other players and baseball fans, watched the 2023 tournament on TV. But he wished he were out on the field.

"It was killing me the whole time watching," the three-time reigning AL MVP told Shehadi. "I was watching every at-bat, every moment, every game. You kind of picture yourself in those moments. I'm looking forward to those at-bats, those games, those moments, and we'll see what happens."

For Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner, representing his country is what he expected to be doing at this point in his life, just not on a baseball field.

"When I was coming through high school, the thing I thought I was going to be doing right now was flying jets," the former Air Force Academy attendee told Shehadi. "As a fan of the game, watching the previous World Baseball Classics, I was like, if I ever get the chance to do this, I'm never saying no."

Skubal, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner, said one of the big attractions for him is being able to share a clubhouse with some of the best players in MLB.

Skubal cited a conversation last season with the recently retired Clayton Kershaw, who's also a member of Team USA, that "changed my whole outlook on pitching." Skubal looks forward to similar interactions with other players.

"They're probably going to think I'm weird, but it's like, 'No, I want to get something from this. I want to watch what you do and figure out why you're so great.' So, it's going to be fun," he said.

Like Judge and Skenes, Skubal feels tremendous pride when he dons the Team USA jersey.

"I wear the uniform for everyone in this country that makes sacrifices for us to play a kid's game," he said. "That's something I don't take for granted."

Judge said he often thinks of the military veterans he sees at games. He said making them proud during the tournament is a motivator.

"We sit here and talk about our sacrifices for what we do for our job, but those are true sacrifices," Judge said.

Ultimately, though, all three want to compete so they can bring a championship to the United States.

"This is what you play the game for, to go and compete on the highest level against the best players in the world," Skubal said. "When we've got the guys that I do behind me and in the dugout, I'm gonna like our odds against anybody."