03/22/26 12:37:00
Printable Page
03/22 12:33 CDT Randy Arozarena apologizes to Seattle teammate Cal Raleigh over
comments after handshake snub at WBC
Randy Arozarena apologizes to Seattle teammate Cal Raleigh over comments after
handshake snub at WBC
By The Associated Press
Randy Arozarena has apologized to Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh after
Arozarena cursed out the catcher for not returning a handshake at the World
Baseball Classic.
"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," Arozarena said in a statement issued by the Mariners. "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."
The incident between the two took place on March 9 when Arozarena reached down
to greet Raleigh in his catcher's squat at home plate, and Raleigh declined to
offer his hand back in a game in which the Americans beat Mexico 5-3.
Arozarena, speaking to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish, said Raleigh
"has to thank God that he has nice parents, well educated," and added he
recently hugged them during a friendly greeting at the team hotel.
He then used profane Cuban and Mexican slang to insult Raleigh before pivoting
to English and saying Raleigh could shove his "good to see you" in his rear.
Arozarena was born in Cuba but defected to Mexico to pursue an MLB career.
Soon after, Raleigh called Arozarena a baseball "brother," while explaining
there was no tension between the teammates.
"I love Randy, I do," Raleigh said. "I hate that this is a thing. There's no
beef when we get back to Seattle. He's my brother. We're family."
On Saturday night after their spring training game, Raleigh reiterated his
feelings.
"We talked it out, and everything went great," Raleigh said, according to
MLB.com. "Randy knows that I love him, and he's a brother, and it's in the past
and none of us are carrying this forward. We're in a good spot."
The Mariners open the season Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Seattle is coming off a season in which it won the franchise's first AL West
title since 2001. Raleigh helped lead the way by becoming the seventh different
player in major league history to hit 60 homers in a season.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|
