Team USA Stars Paul Skenes, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper Bringing Patriotism To World Baseball Classic

Well, after the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina proved to be bizarrely controversial, with several US athletes complaining about their country and making political statements, it's refreshing to see a very different approach now. 

The 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic officially starts this week, and the Team USA roster is loaded with some of the best players in Major League Baseball. Bobby Witt Jr., Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, just to name a few. In the leadup to the event, Skenes and Harper, among others, have spoken about what it means to them to represent the United States in an international competition.

And it's been just about the polar opposite of those Olympic athletes who used their platforms to complain about politics. 

Harper spoke this week about what it means to him to represent the USA, saying "I'm proud to be an American," then adding, "There's no greater feeling than going out there listening to your National Anthem blaring over the speakers, knowing what you represent." 

He continued, "At a young age I learned when we put U.S. on our hats it's about us…Every single day we come out here, it's for the greater good of America." 

Skenes was equally effusive.

PHOENIX - Bryce Harper of Team USA gestures to Kyle Schwarber #12 during a workout at Papago Park Sports Complex on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Skenes, Harper, Showing Other Athletes How It's Done

Paul Skenes told The Athletic last week how excited he is to represent the US, calling it the "greatest country in the world."

"That’s what we do it for," Skenes said. "This is the greatest country in the world. That’s what I believe. That’s why I wanted to serve, why I went to the Air Force Academy. And those folks don’t get the recognition they deserve.

"I’m not suiting up in my OCPs (Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms) again or my dress blues or anything like that, but it is going to be a very cool experience for me personally. For (team captain) Aaron Judge to answer the call, all the guys on the position-player side and then all the pitchers that we’ve gotten, it’s this thing that’s a lot bigger than any of us," he added. 

Aaron Judge too, talked about the importance of duplicating what the U.S. Men's Hockey Team did in Milan, saying the Team USA group chat was busy with pictures of gold medal goal scorer Jack Hughes.

"Boys were fired up," he told ESPN's Pat McAfee. "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. Now, it’s WBC, we get the chance to throw on the red, white, and blue and copy what they did."

That's exactly what you want to hear from athletes representing the United States in an international competition. It's the polar opposite of what many on the Megan Rapinoe-led U.S. women's soccer teams have said in the past. It's the polar opposite of what many Olympic athletes said just last month. And it makes this WBC team incredibly easy to root for. Skenes, Judge and Harper play their first competitive game on Friday against Brazil.