NEED TO KNOW
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Randy Arozarena was apparently not impressed with his Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh on Monday night.
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Arozarena, playing for Mexico, tried to shake Raleigh’s hand at home plate during their World Baseball Classic game.
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Raleigh refused and said a few words to Arozarena, who then used obscenities to explain the interaction.
Randy Arozarena had some words for his Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh, who refused to shake his hand when the two faced off in the World Baseball Classic on Monday.
Arozarena, playing for Mexico, attempted to shake Raleigh’s hand before his first at-bat, but was rebuffed by the Team USA catcher during a pool game at Houston’s Daikin Park on Monday, March 9.
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In an interview with Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert, the All-Star outfielder said the All-Star catcher, affectionately known as The Big Dumper, could “fuck off” and “go to hell.”
“That ‘it’s good to see you’ thing you said to me,” Arozarena, 31, told Gilbert in Spanish. “You can shove it right up your ass. I’m out.”
In his comments, it was unclear whether Arozarena was simply being competitive or if he had larger issues with his season-long clubmate.
In a video of the incident, Arozarena turned to offer his hand to the recipient, but Raleigh refused and then said something to him. The left fielder leaned in as if to try to hear better what Raleigh was saying.
Credit: eva.lamorte/Instagram
The Mariners star has had a similar experience in the WBC in the past. In 2023, Dodgers catcher Will Smith wouldn’t shake his hand either, according to The Athletic.
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“It left me hanging, but I’m not going to cry,” Arozarena said in Spanish at the time. “I kept going and got two doubles.”
However, on Monday night, Arozarena had only good things to say about Raleigh’s family.
“The only thing I should be grateful for is having such wonderful parents,” Arozarena told Gilbert. “They’re very polite, thank God. I was lucky enough to see them a few days ago at the hotel. They came up to say hello, gave me a big hug and were really proud to see me again.”
Read the original article on People