Randy Arozarena says he apologized to Cal Raleigh after World Baseball Classic handshake dispute
The Mariners' odd little controversy appears to be settled.
One of the odder controversies to emerge from the 2026 World Baseball Classic appears to have come to a close. Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena released a statement Saturday saying he had apologized to star catcher Cal Raleigh for their handshake controversy during the tournament, via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times : "I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction. Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game.
Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates. He’s family, and we are both focused on helping the Mariners win the World Series. " Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season The incident in question occurred when Arozarena’s Mexico team faced Raleigh and Team USA during pool play.
As Arozarena came to the plate, he reached out a hand for Raleigh to shake, but the reigning AL home run champion declined to reciprocate. Cal Raleigh refuses to shake hands with his Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena pic. twitter.
com/YpTxhHmH9P — Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 10, 2026 It was a seemingly harmless moment — and not even unprecedented, as Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers had the same reaction when Arozarena pulled the move during the 2023 WBC — but it soon became clear it meant something to Arozarena. Speaking after the game, the two-time All-Star said his teammate should “f*** off” and “go to hell. ” That might be a bit concerning if you’re a Mariners fan, though both Raleigh and Mariners manager Dan Wilson downplayed the incident in the aftermath.