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The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is known for its rivalries, but a viral moment between fellow MLB players got even spicier after Team USA and Mexico faced off in pool play Monday night in Houston.
Randy Arozarena of Mexico stepped to the plate to face American star pitcher Paul Skenes, but not before extending his hand to acknowledge his Seattle Mariners teammate, Cal Raleigh, who was catching behind the plate.
That was until Raleigh looked at Arozarena and refused to shake his hand.
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Randy Arozarena had a pretty strong response to his Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh’s reaction to a handshake during the World Baseball Classic. (Getty Images)
Raleigh appeared in the viral video to say something to his teammate, who leaned in to listen. But whether or not it’s competitive for Raleigh, Arozarena seemed serious about the situation in his postgame comments.
After the United States defeated Mexico, 5-3, to remain undefeated in the WBC, Raleigh did not comment on what happened to Arozarena at the plate. But Arozarena had a lot to say about the situation.
Arozarena was asked in Spanish how he would respond to Raleigh’s handshake snub. His response was translated, and while some on social media dismissed it as potentially sarcastic, most believe he was quite serious.
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“How do you want me to respond to Cal Raleigh?” Arozarena asked the journalist. “What do you want me to tell him?
“I would like to tell you in four languages, that’s what I would like. First I will tell you in Spanish, look: All you have to do is thank God that you have such wonderful parents, right? That your parents are very polite. I saw them two days ago at the hotel, and they came to greet me, they gave me a hug. They said they were very proud of me and happy to see me again.
Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with Cal Raleigh #29 after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during game three of the American League Championship Series presented by lendDepot between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos)
“The other thing I want to tell you, I’m going to tell you in Cuban style. What you have to do is go to hell. Mexican way: you can go to hell. And in English, I’m going to tell you in English. That ‘good to see you’ thing you gave me? You can shove it up your ass.”
Arozarena then claims that Raleigh told him “it’s good to see you” at home plate, but he refused to shake his hand. However, this is not the first time we have seen this at the WBC.
In a previous matchup between Australia and Czechia at the Tokyo Dome, an awkward situation occurred: the former’s catcher refused to shake the latter’s hand. Theories began to circulate, with the two most popular being a simple competitive thing where the players don’t want to fraternize with the “enemy” and the recipient doesn’t potentially get pine tar on their hands.
Maybe one of those is why Raleigh did the same thing with his own teammate, but they’ll have to return to spring training together, where it’s sure to be a hot topic among reporters and fans.
Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with Cal Raleigh #29 after hitting a three-run home run during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park on September 9, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the United States and Mexico could head to Miami depending on how their final group matches go this week.
Team USA finishes its schedule against Italy on Tuesday night, where they hope to clinch their spot in the quarterfinals with a win. Mexico and Italy will finish their group play with a potentially crucial showdown on Wednesday night.
