Arozarena Apologizes to Mariners’ Raleigh After World Baseball Classic Incident

Randy Arozarena has reached out to his Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh to express his regret following a heated exchange during the World Baseball Classic earlier this month. The incident occurred on March 9 when Arozarena, representing Mexico, faced off against Raleigh, who was playing for Team USA. Tensions flared when Raleigh declined Arozarena’s handshake during an at-bat, prompting an angry response from the outfielder.

In a post-game interview, Arozarena did not hold back, stating Raleigh could “fuck off” and “go to hell.” However, Raleigh took the comments in stride, clarifying that their friendship remains intact. “We’re good friends and we’ll continue to be good friends,” he said, downplaying the incident.

On Saturday, Arozarena took steps to mend fences, issuing a statement through the Mariners to confirm he had apologized to Raleigh. “I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction,” Arozarena noted. “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.”

Raleigh had a remarkable season last year, hitting 60 home runs—a record for a catcher—as the Mariners clinched the AL West title and narrowly missed out on a World Series appearance. Mariners manager Joe Wilson expressed his understanding of Arozarena’s need to apologize, emphasizing the close-knit nature of the team. “It’s just a special group,” Wilson remarked. “They love each other, and yeah, it’s time. I think we’re all ready to get back to Seattle and get this thing started.”

The Mariners are set to kick off their season on Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians, bringing renewed focus as they look to build on last year’s success.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.