Aaron Judge is one step away from leading Team USA to a World Baseball Classic title on March 17. While the WBC title is beckoning him, Captain America will get another chance to realize an MLB dream in the upcoming season.

Judge, cemented as one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history, has been at the center of the Triple Crown conversation for consecutive years now. He led the majors in 2022 when he hit 62 home runs. To secure the Triple Crown, he would need to replicate his 2022 form. Ahead of the Opening Day, ESPN’s David Schoenfield weighed the chances of Judge breaking his own home run record to achieve the feat.

Marking the possibility as “not real,” Schoenfield offered a major reality check to Judge’s aspirations. “I’d put the odds of Judge winning the Triple Crown higher than Ohtani winning 20 games, but there’s a reason Miguel Cabrera is the only hitter to have pulled it off since 1967,” he said.

“And 63 home runs? That’s 10 more than Judge hit last year, when he got off to that ridiculous start in April and May.”

Last season, Judge topped the MLB charts in batting average (.331), but Cal Raleigh hit the most homers (60). The New York Yankees captain will play this season as a 34-year-old.

Though age may not affect his dominance, hitting at least 10 more home runs than last season’s 53 is still going to be a challenge. If he does make it to 63 in 2026, Judge will break his own AL record that he set in 2022.

Judge came very close to the Triple Crown in both 2022 and 2024, topping the MLB rankings in most home runs and RBIs. In 2024, Bobby Witt Jr. topped the batting average.

Last season, too, Judge led the American League in all three categories (home runs, RBI, and batting average) in May/June. But ultimately, Raleigh came out as the top contender in the AL in home runs and RBIs. However, with a player of Judge’s stature, the chances of winning a Triple Crown are always at play.

But the road to it won’t be easy, with contenders like Witt Jr., Raleigh, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. showing promise of a great season, as highlighted by Schoenfield. Judge won back-to-back AL MVP awards in 2024 and 2025, and Schoenfield predicts a fourth with another 50-plus home run season.

“Even if he doesn’t hit 63, I’ll take 50-plus home runs — and a fourth MVP Award,” he wrote.

The last time Aaron Judge did not hit 50-plus home runs was in 2023, when he played only 106 games (37).

The last time a player won the Triple Crown was in 2012, when Miguel Cabrera won it after 1967. If Judge does manage to pull off the feat, he will be the first Yankees player to win it since Mickey Mantle in 1956.

But before the Triple Crown, Judge has his Captain America duties to fulfill, and he had words of praise for the supporting fans.

Aaron Judge prefers the World Baseball Classic crowd

Team USA booked their tickets to the WBC final after prevailing over the Dominican Republic, one of the favorites, in a 2-1 victory.

The crowd at the loanDepot Park in Miami witnessed Judge give his defensive best when he threw out Fernando Tatis Jr. at 95.7 trying to reach third base. Not only that, Dominican CF Julio Rodriguez offered a spectacle when he took away an almost home run from the Yankees captain.

Following America’s victory, Judge spoke about how he liked the WBC crowd more than the World Series.

“It was bigger and better than the World Series. The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it,” Judge compared.

Captain America revealed he got “chills” from hearing the name announcements when standing in line before the match started, comparing it to an All-Star team.

Judge has spoken about his preference for the WBC crowd earlier as well. He had called the environment in the match against Team Mexico the best he had ever played in.

Team USA will face the winner of the second semi-final (Venezuela vs Italy) for their final WBC matchup in 2026.