Cal Raleigh Responds to Randy Arozarena's Critical Comments After Viral WBC Handshake Snub Video

Cal Raleigh says there is "no beef" between him and his Seattle Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena after he declined to shake Arozarena's hand during a 2026 World Baseball Classic matchup between the United States and Mexico.

"There's no beef. I love Randy," Raleigh told reporters Tuesday, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale. "Like I said, when we're back in Seattle, he's my brother. He's family."

Raleigh continued, per Nightengale: "I have a responsibility to to my teammates and the country to be focused and locked in. 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 also said he reached out to Arozarena after the exchange, per MLB.com's Daniel Kramer.

The incident originally took place when Arozarena came up to bat during Team USA's 5-3 win over Mexico in pool play on Monday night.

Arozarena said in Spanish after the game that he wanted Raleigh to "f--k off" and "go to hell," per ESPN.

Arozarena started out his comments by praising Raleigh's parents, who he said he had seen earlier in the WBC.

He went on to call out his Mariners teammate in both Mexican and Cuban slang, per ESPN.

"That 'good to see you' that he said to me. He can shove it straight up his ass. I'm out," Arozarena said, per The Athletic's Sam Blum.

Raleigh and Arozarena have played together since July 2024, when Arozarena was traded to Seattle by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Both ultimately played a role in the Mariners' run to the ALCS, where the club fell just one win short of the World Series in a Game 7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Tuesday he didn't expect the WBC issue to be an issue for his club this season, per the Seattle Times' Ryan Divish and Adam Jude.

"These guys are incredible athletes because of their competitiveness, and that's where they're at, and that's why they've gotten to the level that they've gotten," Wilson said Tuesday, per Divish and Jude. "But I also know that our team loves each other deeply. And that's one of the key ingredients we have in that clubhouse, is how much they love each other, and so I don't anticipate this being any bit of an issue."

This isn't the first time a failed handshake between a batter and a catcher has gone viral during the 2026 WBC.

Australian catcher Robbie Perkins declined a proffered handshake from Czechia's Milan Prokop during an earlier pool play game, something he later told Blum was about "competing."

Raleigh and Team USA could clinch a trip to the next round with a win over Italy on Tuesday night. Pool B play will wrap up Wednesday when Italy returns to play Arozarena and Mexico with a trip to the WBC quarterfinals on the line.