Cal Raleigh Explains Why He Refused to Shake Randy Arozarena’s Hand at WBC

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh addressed the viral WBC incident with his teammate Randy Arozarena during Team USA’s win over Mexico. | John Froschauer-Imagn Images

In the snub seen ‘round the world, Cal Raleigh refused to shake Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena’s hand at home plate during Team USA’s World Baseball Classic game against Mexico on Monday night.

Raleigh, representing the Americans, was playing against Arozarena, representing Mexico, and appeared to decline to shake the two-time All-Star outfielder’s hand before his at-bat—quite literally leaving Arozarena hanging. The awkward moment was caught on camera and later blew up on socials after Arozarena seemed to deliver a fiery and profane clap-back at his Seattle teammate.

"The other thing I want to say to him, I'll tell it to him Cuban-style. What he needs to do is go f--- himself. Mexican-style: he can go f--- himself. And in English, I'm gonna say it to him in English. That 'good to see you' he gave me? He can shove it up his a--,” Arozarena told reporters postgame.

Raleigh addressed the incident Tuesday, a day after the USA’s 5-3 victory over Mexico.

“I have a responsibility to to my teammates and and the country to be focused and locked in,” Raleigh said of fraternizing with opposing teams in the WBC. “And like I said, there's no harm or no bad blood. There's nothing behind it. It doesn't matter who's on the other side.”

Raleigh added that there was “no beef” between him and Arozarena, that he talked to his Mariners teammate shortly after the viral interaction and that the two would remain close when they were back together in Seattle.

“There's no beef. I love Randy. Like I said, when we're back in Seattle, he's my brother. He's family,” Raleigh said.

We talked with Cal Raleigh via facetime, he said "There's no beef with Randy. I love him. He's my brother. " He's already talked to Arozarena about the situation to clarify what transpired as well as manager Dan Wilson

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 10, 2026

When asked about Arozarena’s heated comments, Raleigh simply said, “Emotions are running high. ... Like I said, there's no story to me. I'm not taking this as a big deal, and I don't think he is either.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Arozarena was being serious in his profanity-laden rant directed at Raleigh, or if it was just some good ol’ fashioned ribbing between two teammates. Raleigh and Arozarena have played together in Seattle since the latter was traded to the Mariners during the 2024 season, and it seems unusual that they would suddenly start feuding over something as small and petty as a handshake snub.

The United States’ WBC manager Mark DeRosa made clear that there were no fraternization rules imposed on Team USA and gave his simple theory on the incident:

“When it happened, on the bench we were like, ‘Oof, ok,’” DeRosa said. “And they’re teammates! ... I think Cal told him pregame or the day leading up to it, ‘Hey, I’m not hugging you, I’m not loving on you, let’s get after it.’”

Whatever went down between Raleigh and Arozarena, it’ll hopefully blow over soon, as both players focus on their respective WBC title chases this spring.

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