MIAMI (AP) — Criticized for their cool, American players head into the World Baseball Classic championship also appreciating opponents’ flamboyant flair.
U.S. captain Aaron Judge’s controlled composure has filtered through the clubhouse ahead of Tuesday night’s final against Venezuela or Italy. That’s not to say the Americans don’t appreciate the theatrics of Latin stars such as Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“You guys would all think it’s silly if we shuffled like Soto or did Vladdy’s little wiggle,” American outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said after Sunday night’s 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic. “That’s them and if I had enough swag to do that I would probably do that, too. … We have fun in our own way, but we definitely have fun out there.”
Judge’s personality has created the clubhouse character, much like it has with the New York Yankees.
Players look up to Judge, and not just because he’s 6-foot-7.
“It’s been cool to see how he goes about his business,” said star pitcher Paul Skenes, the second-tallest American player at 6-foot-6. “He’s not faking anything. He’s playing as Aaron Judge, so that’s just his personality in the clubhouse and off the field. Obviously it shows up on the field, too.”
U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said Judge turned down an offer to have a “C” on his uniform as the U.S. captain.
“Leader of men. Classy in every decision he makes,” DeRosa said. “A lot of decisions that I’ve made throughout the course of the WBC I have made with his recommendations.”
U.S. players have been faulted for their occasionally staid approach, including when catcher Cal Raleigh refused to shake hands with Seattle teammate Randy Arozarena during a pool play game against Mexico. The team also has embraced military ties amid the Iran war, with player saluting each other after victories. Skenes and Griffin Jax pitched at the Air Force Academy, and the team invited Robert J. O’Neill, an ex-Navy SEAL who claimed he fatally shot Osama bin Laden during a 2011 raid, to speak in the clubhouse.
“You never want it to get lost why you’re doing this, whatever that why is,” DeRosa said. “And a lot of people — like Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I want to do this for every serviceman and woman who protects our freedom,’ and that’s why we wear USA across our chest.
“So I thought it would just be a time to redirect and get these guys to understand that, although this is an unbelievable event and you get a chance to share the locker room with the game’s greats, there’s a reason why we’re doing it and a reason why people protect our freedom at night. I just wanted to honor that. So that’s why he came in to talk.”
DeRosa says his premature comment about the United States having already punched its ticket to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals before facing Italy was just an “overly confident statement” and reiterated Thursday he knew nothing was guaranteed at that point.
DeRosa was faulted for saying before the loss to Italy “our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.” That wasn’t the case and the U.S. didn’t clinch advancement until Italy’s 9-1 win over Mexico on the group’s final day.
“I misspoke,” DeRosa later admitted. “I completely misread the calculations.”
The U.S. is in its third straight WBC final and is seeking its second title after 2017. The Americans lost the 2023 final 3-2 to Japan.
Harper, at 33 a 14-year veteran, tried to play with Latin-style flair when he arrived in the major leagues He remembered attracting attention for gray bats, different cleats and emphatic eye black.
“I kind of got pounded for it,” he said. “So there’s an American way of baseball everybody talks about, right? But I think that’s so far from the truth. Obviously, when we grow up, we play a different style. But we learn from other people’s styles, as well.”
Supporters energized the Dominican team.
“One hit for them got the crowd out of their seat. A 3-0 count got the crowd out their seat,” Crow-Armstrong said. “You don’t necessarily see that with fans from the U.S. all the time.”
Nolan McLean, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander with eight games of major league experience, will start for the U.S. after allowing a pair of home runs over three innings and leaving with a 3-0 deficit in the group stage loss to Italy on March 10 that nearly led to first-round elimination.
“Obviously I got clipped there a couple times … but overall I felt really good,” he said Monday. “It’s just kind of a dream come true to be able to get the ball in such a big moment, and it’s something I want to do.”
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