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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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Team USA right fielder Aaron Judge, in addition to being a three-time Most Valuable Player Award winner, is one of the few players who can now say he's reached both the World Series and the World Baseball Classic championship.
The Americans punched their ticket to the tournament final on Sunday night with a thrilling 2-1 win over Team Dominican Republic. Judge had a home run robbed by a spectacular grab from center fielder Julio Rodriguez, but still put his stamp on the victory by throwing out Fernando Tatís Jr. at third base to kill a third-inning rally.
At times, the members of Team USA have received criticism for not showing the same level of emotion during the tournament's big moments as some of the stars from other nations. And while players from other countries have often said that they'd rather win the WBC than the World Series, the widespread assumption has been that most Americans would rather have the latter.
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Judge, however, gave those naysayers something to think about after Sunday's game. The captain of both Team USA and the New York Yankees favorably compared the WBC atmosphere to that of the World Series.
"It's been bigger. The World Series I was in," Judge said, per Doug McKain. "The crowd here, the crowd we had when we played Mexico. It's bigger & better than the World Series. The passion these fans have, representing their country, representing their favorite players, there's nothing like it.
"That's what you dream of as a kid. It gives me chills right now thinking about how special that was."
Because Judge is a Yankee, and because the Yankees are built on championships, it would be fair to say winning a World Series in pinstripes would be more impactful for his legacy than beating Italy or Venezuela on Tuesday night. This event is still just 20 years old, after all, and it's hard to replicate the tradition of a full baseball season, followed by a hotly contested playoff run.
Still, to see such an important figure in the game lend this type of credibility to the stakes of the World Baseball Classic is meaningful, as the sport looks to continue its upward trajectory on an international stage.
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