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During pool play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Team USA played against Team Mexico in a game that featured two prominent Seattle Mariners.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is behind the plate for the Americans while Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena is starring for Team Mexico. When the two MLB teammates played against each other during pool play on Monday evening in a game Team USA won, 5-3, there was a slightly awkward moment.
Arozarena offered a hand shake to Raleigh, who said something to the outfielder but did not extend his hand back. The outfielder then leaned in closer to hear him before he stepped into the batter's box to wait for the pitch.
Was he intentionally snubbing his Mariners teammate for competitive reasons, was he avoiding getting pine tar on the ball before he threw it back to the pitcher or was it something else?
Curiously enough, during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Team USA catcher Will Smith also snubbed the outfielder for a hand shake.
Those two players were former teammates from the minor leagues and after the game, Arozarena said in Spanish that he wasn't going to "start crying" about what happened.
After this game this time around, however, his words were a bit stronger and more explicit (via Sports Illustrated):
It is not entirely clear if he was joking or serious, and it is worth noting in the same interview, Arozarena complimented Raleigh's parents and said that it was good to see them again recently.
But one way or another, this was an intense interaction during postgame press availability.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Was Randy Arozarena really mad at Cal Raleigh's WBC handshake snub?
Continue reading...
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is behind the plate for the Americans while Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena is starring for Team Mexico. When the two MLB teammates played against each other during pool play on Monday evening in a game Team USA won, 5-3, there was a slightly awkward moment.
Arozarena offered a hand shake to Raleigh, who said something to the outfielder but did not extend his hand back. The outfielder then leaned in closer to hear him before he stepped into the batter's box to wait for the pitch.
Was he intentionally snubbing his Mariners teammate for competitive reasons, was he avoiding getting pine tar on the ball before he threw it back to the pitcher or was it something else?
Curiously enough, during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Team USA catcher Will Smith also snubbed the outfielder for a hand shake.
Those two players were former teammates from the minor leagues and after the game, Arozarena said in Spanish that he wasn't going to "start crying" about what happened.
¡Randy Arozarena explota con Cal Raleigh!️ pic.twitter.com/qhSDrKGMcC
— Luis Gilbert (@LuisGilbertLop) March 10, 2026
After this game this time around, however, his words were a bit stronger and more explicit (via Sports Illustrated):
It is not entirely clear if he was joking or serious, and it is worth noting in the same interview, Arozarena complimented Raleigh's parents and said that it was good to see them again recently.
But one way or another, this was an intense interaction during postgame press availability.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Was Randy Arozarena really mad at Cal Raleigh's WBC handshake snub?
Continue reading...
