Oct 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) celebrates with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game three of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
By Sam Neumann on

The World Baseball Classic has a way of taking two guys who play 162 games together, putting them on opposite sides for a week, and revealing exactly where the competitive temperature actually lives.

Monday night at Daikin Park in Houston, Team USA beat Team Mexico 5-3 in Pool B. But the moment everyone is talking about had nothing to do with Aaron Judge’s two-run homer in the third inning, or Paul Skenes striking out seven over four dominant innings, or Mexico’s Jarren Duran hitting two solo shots off the bullpen trying to claw it back.

None of that is what anyone is talking about today. What everyone is talking about is a handshake that never happened.

When Randy Arozarena stepped into the batter’s box for his first plate appearance, he extended his hand toward Cal Raleigh. It was supposed to be a greeting, a moment of acknowledgment between competitors who happen to share a clubhouse for most of the year with the Seattle Mariners. Raleigh, catching for Team USA, stone-faced his way toward the pitcher’s mound without reciprocating.

This was not the first time Arozarena has had this experience on this stage. In the 2023 WBC, he tried to fist-bump Team USA catcher Will Smith in the same situation, and Smith declined.

He opened, notably, with genuine warmth, specifically complimenting Raleigh’s parents, noting he’d run into them at the hotel recently, that they came over to embrace him, and that they seemed genuinely proud to see him. But then he laid into Raleigh for the snub with profanity.

Here is the translation coming via The Athletic.

“The only thing he should be thankful for is having such great parents,” Arozarena told Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish. “He’s very well educated, thank God. I was lucky enough to see them a few days ago at the hotel. They came over to greet me, gave me a big hug, and were genuinely proud to see me again.”

Then, he launched into profanity-laced criticism, suggesting Raleigh should “f— off” and “go to hell.”

“That ‘good to see you’ that he said to me,” Arozarena said. “He can shove it straight up his ass. I’m out.”

It is worth acknowledging that this could be exactly what it looks like, or it could be something considerably more theatrical. But there is also a floating technical explanation for Raleigh’s behavior. Sometimes, catchers decline contact with opposing batters specifically to avoid getting pine tar or other sticky substances on their throwing hand, which could result in an ejection.

If Mexico beats Italy on Wednesday, the two teams could meet in an elimination game before the tournament is over, which would make the handshake situation the story worth discussing in the lead-up. And if they don’t, Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh will be neighbors in Peoria for spring training within the week, sharing a clubhouse, navigating whatever this actually is in the considerably less dramatic context of batting practice and morning workouts.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann