rewrite this title Aaron Judge reflects on Team USA loss to Venezuela

New York Yankees and USA captain Aaron Judge was among the many American players who failed to produce at the plate as Team USA suffered a brutal 3-2 loss to Venezuela in the final of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night.

Following that defeat, Judge addressed all that went wrong for a Team USA side that tallied just three hits against six different Venezuelan pitchers.

Aaron Judge: Team USA didn’t execute as well as Venezuela

“They made their pitches, worked the corners on both sides. When we did get a pitch, we either popped it up or hit it on the ground. Stuff like that can’t happen,” Judge explained, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. “When you get a pitch to hit, you have to be able to drive. Even if you get one pitch in a game, you got to do something with it. They executed their pitches and their game plan. And we just couldn’t get rolling offensively.”

Judge generated headlines when he suggested that the WBC and the atmosphere at tournament games were “bigger and better than the World Series.” Fair or not, the perception exists that the moment was a bit too big for Judge on Tuesday night. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the USA bats stayed silent for the better part of eight innings. 

“It was action-packed out there,” Judge said about the atmosphere he experienced at LoanDepot Park on Tuesday evening, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “It was incredible getting a chance to see all of the fans coming out. They’re cheering. They’re screaming. They’re on their feet from the very first pitch. So, I loved it.”

Will Aaron Judge have something to prove after WBC heartbreak? 

As Mike Gavin once shared for NBC New York, Judge hit .184 with three home runs and nine RBI over 14 playoff games in the fall of 2024 during a journey that ended with the Yankees falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Judge more recently went 13-for-26 (.500) with a 1.273 OPS and seven RBI in postseason play this past fall, but the Yankees failed to advance beyond the American League Division Series.

It sounds like the three-time AL Most Valuable Player could use Tuesday’s result as extra motivation heading into MLB’s Opening Day. 

“I’m always fired up for the Yankees,” Judge added after Tuesday’s defeat, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. “But I’m still pi—- about this. So, I’m looking forward to the next time we get to throw on the red, white and blue and take care of business.”