As Venezuela won the 2026 WBC title in their very first final, fans can’t help but hold Team USA captain Aaron Judge and starter Tarik Skubal accountable. Skubal missed a second start for the team as he went back to the spring training, and Judge again failed to rise in the clutch moment. Again, the chants about Aaron Judge being a “choker” are just spiraling.

“Aaron Judge is still ringless and has zero World Cups, known as a serial choker,” one fan shared via X.

Captain Aaron Judge missed the WBC title for his country by a whisker. And all of it felt like an action replay of the Yankees going down against the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series.

That time, the captain had a great regular season but failed to rise in the postseason. He batted .322 with 58 HRs in the 2024 regular season, but in the playoffs, that came down to .184.

And that infamous dropball in the outfield just added to the fans’ narrative that Judge chokes in the clutch moment. Time changed, situation changed, but Aaron Judge remained the same. When Team USA needed him the most to score runs, he failed miserably. Captain America stood at 0 for 4 in the finals with three strikeouts.

And as it stands now, Judge is yet to win a World Series ring and a WBC.

Looking at how Aaron Judge missed some of the biggest moments in the game, fans have every reason to be unimpressed.

In the seventh, Team USA was trailing 0-2, with a runner on first. A big hit by Judge would have leveled the score, but he grounded out to third base. Even at eight, the momentum was all with Team USA as Bryce Harper’s 2-run homer tied the game at 2-2. Aaron Judge entered the plate with “USA” chants spiraling across the ballpark for another hit.

But another strikeout and Judge was back to the dugout looking clueless.

And for Tarik Skubal, it is even more disappointing.

After making one start in the pool play game against Great Britain, he left for spring training. So, when Nolan McLean blew up his start tonight, fans missed Skubal.

Skubal allowed 1 run for 5 SOs from 3 innings against Great Britain. And tonight, McLean allowed 2 runs with 4 SOs from 4 innings.

Just as Skubal threw over 60 pitches in the Tigers’ spring training camp a few days ago, fans wondered what if those 60 pitches were thrown tonight. The result could have been different.

Fans are left unimpressed with both Judge and Skubal

“When David Wright was Team USA Captain, he stepped up in big moments for his team. Aaron Judge, on the other hand,” one fan remarked.

“Of course, an Aaron Judge-led team would have absolutely no clutch hitting and disappear when the lights are the brightest,” another added.

In the semifinal game against the Dominican Republic, Aaron Judge struck out in the critical third inning with runners on second and third base. In the end, he recorded 1-for-4 and couldn’t convert the clutch moments in his favor. Same with him during the 2024 World Series, when he could manage only 1 HR from the 5 games.

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“Somebody told Aaron Judge it’s October, and it’s been downhill ever since,” one fan agreed.

Skubal, too, didn’t get away from the bach.

“I’ll never forgive Tarik Skubal,” one user wrote.

“Deport Tarik Skubal,” commented another.

The more fans missed Skubal tonight, the more they are cursing him for prioritizing the Tigers. However, the Tigers released Skubal to the WBC with a deal of only 1 start in the tournament. But for fans, Team USA needed Skubal tonight the most. They would have hoped for a repetition of Skubal’s 13 SOs game against the Mariners in the 2025 ALDS Game 5.

The entire US roster choked against Venezuela

The only exception was Bryce Harper, who hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the 8th.

Venezuela, riding on Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly and a Wilyer Abreu’s HR, took the 2-0 lead in the third. But till seventh, no one from Team USA could score a run.

While Aaron Judge failed at clutch moments, other names like Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Schwarber also failed to counter Venezuela’s Eduardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez’s dominance was most evident in the second inning.

Schwarber struck out for a foul tip. Bregman grounded out to the infield, and Anthony followed him. In the end, Team USA scored 0 runs with 0 hits from the second without Aaron Judge around.

Team USA’s defense, too, stayed a low-key affair tonight.

With Skubal not around, the New York Mets’ top pitching prospect had a dominant run from the start. But in the third, a walk by Ronald Acuna Jr. turned into second and third as the ball got away from Nolan McLean and catcher Will Smith. As a result, Garcia made a sacrifice fly and scored the first run.

Aaron Judge, being the captain and leading slugger of the team, was expected to rise in the WBC final. But the fully stacked lineup couldn’t do much either. In Venezuela’s historical night, Team USA’s star-studded lineup just had a bitter reality check.