Mike Trout is once again going viral for a move of pure class.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was officially announced on Monday as Team USA’s captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Judge succeeds the Los Angeles Angels star Trout, who captained Team USA during the last World Baseball Classic in 2023.
Judge was interviewed by MLB Network on Monday in the wake of the news, and Mark DeRosa, who managed Team USA during the 2023 WBC and will be doing so again in 2026, was also on air for the interview. DeRosa revealed that he reached out to Trout about the news of Judge being named Team USA’s captain and that Trout responded with a very classy message.
“He should be,” Trout said of Judge being captain, according to DeRosa.
Judge reacted by calling Trout “the greatest player in the game” and added that he hoped Trout would be on Team USA’s 2026 World Baseball Classic roster as well.
During Trout’s WBC captaincy in 2023 (which was also Trout’s first time competing in the tournament), he helped lead Team USA to the silver medal. Trout was even part of an all-time classic moment with his then-MLB teammate Shohei Ohtani during the gold medal game.
But Trout, 33, is now more than happy to give way to Judge, 32, who is coming off his second AL MVP victory and his first trip to the World Series. That is very much in character for Trout, who also had a classy move for a rival fan after an awkward moment last weekend.
