Cal Raleigh: ‘There’s no beef’ with M’s teammate Randy Arozarena

While Cal Raleigh has become more accustomed to the spotlight in the last year, this was not the kind of spotlight the Seattle Mariners catcher wanted at the World Baseball Classic.

“I hate that this is a thing,” Raleigh said. “I really don’t think this is a big deal, a big story. It shouldn’t be a thing.”

M’s teammates Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh at center of WBC controversy

Raleigh’s focus is on the task at hand, helping Team USA to the next round in WBC play. Unfortunately, due to an encounter with Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena at home plate in Team USA’s 5-3 win over Team Mexico in Houston on Monday night, five minutes on a FaceTime call with a small group of Mariners media members was necessary shortly after he arrived at Daikin Park ahead of a game against Team Italy on Tuesday night.

Raleigh said there were no hard feelings about the comments Arozarena made after Raleigh failed to shake his hand or give a fist bump from behind home plate when Arozarena took his first at-bat Monday. While he didn’t return the handshake, Raleigh did greet Arozarena while looking forward. He was different in his greeting, because the situation was different.

“Obviously, when we’re when we’re back in Seattle, we’re family, we’re brothers and I’ll do anything for him,” Raleigh said. “I’ll do anything for our team to win, and to me it shouldn’t be that big a deal. But these games do matter. I think it’s important. Each individual’s country emotions are running high. They’re not just exhibition games. These are super important and you know I have a responsibility to my teammates and and my country to be locked in and focused each game and do everything I can to win. I’m here to win the World Baseball Classic for my country. All I’m doing is trying to win.”

Trying to win included catching 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, a pitcher Raleigh had never caught before. Unlike an All-Star Game where such situations arise, to Raleigh the stakes were clearly higher.

“Guys are proud to put on their country’s uniform, and I’m proud to put on USA,” he said. “And like I said, I have a responsibility to my teammates and the country to be focused and locked in. There’s no harm or no bad blood. There’s nothing behind it. It’s just, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side. I’m out there to win and I’m out there to play hard and be focused. And I have no bad blood, no beef with anyone.”

Raleigh said he and Arozarena talked Tuesday.

“I reached out to Randy and I told him, essentially, sorry if you felt disrespected or whatever it may be,” he said. “We’re just playing the game. I think he would want the same if I was his teammate (in the WBC). We were playing somebody in a playoff game and he’d want that same kind of energy for me. So I think that’s kind of how I see it and I reached out and put it to bed, I think. I love Randy. I’ve got no beef at all. … Like I said, emotions are running high. There’s no beef here, there’s no story to me. I’m not taking this as a big deal, and I don’t think he is either.”

For what it’s worth, while players at Mariners spring training camp in Peoria, Ariz., stayed away from topic Tuesday other than to give a small smile to media members while asking if there was any news today, it didn’t appear to be a big deal. The organization of course wanted to get to the bottom of what happened, and to that end manager Dan Wilson said he would check in with both players.

What M’s manager Dan Wilson said about Randy, Raleigh WBC issue

“Yeah, I talked to Dan and we just went over everything and basically just told him the same thing,” Raleigh said. “There’s no beef. I love Randy. When we’re back in Seattle, he’s my brother, he’s family. We’re all in it together, just like I’m here right now with Team USA. And yeah, it is what it is. I’ve got no hard feelings towards him. I don’t see this being a thing at all.”

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