Cal Raleigh seemed to make it clear this week that he wasn’t interested in handing out fist bumps to opponents. Randy Arozarena tried and was unsuccessful. After days of speculation about supposed beef between the Seattle Mariners teammates, Josh Naylor attempted his luck during Friday’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal between the United States and Canada.
He, too, failed.
In Naylor’s defense, he didn’t head to the plate expecting Raleigh to suddenly change his mind on the in-game greeting.
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Naylor said after Canada’s 5-3 defeat to the U.S. that he had texted Raleigh prior to the game to let his Mariners teammate know he was going to do it before his first at-bat. The catcher responded simply, “Please don’t.”
“We were all just joking. Trying to really make light of the situation,” said Naylor. “But me and Cal are really good friends. He’s an awesome teammate and honestly one of my favorite teammates I think I’ve ever had in my career. He’s such a leader, too. I was really, really happy to get traded to the Mariners last year and kind of experience being in the locker room with him.”
The interaction at home plate was kept to a quick exchange of pleasantries.
“He’s like, ‘Good to see you, brother.’ And I was like, ‘Good to see you, too,'” said Naylor.
Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners celebrate after Raleigh’s solo home run in the fifth inning of Game Five of the American League Championship Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Daniel Shirey via Getty Images)
Raleigh’s “no fist bumping ” policy started with the Arozarena snub earlier this week. It wasn’t really noticed until the Mariners outfielder went off on his Seattle teammate to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert saying that Raleigh should “f*** off” and “go to hell.”
“The only thing he should be thankful for is having such great parents,” Arozarena said in Spanish, via a translation from The Athletic. “He’s very well educated, thank God. I was lucky enough to see them a few days ago at the hotel. They came over to greet me, gave me a big hug and were genuinely proud to see me again.”
Then, the interview turned. “That ‘good to see you’ that he said to me,” Arozarena said. “He can shove it straight up his a**. I’m out.”
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Back at Spring Training, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said he wasn’t worried about the dynamic when the players get back to camp.
Raleigh explained his stance by saying the WBC games are meaningful, unlike what we see in Spring Training.
“These are super important,” Raleigh said. “I have a responsibility to my teammates and my country to be locked in and focused each game and do everything I can to win.”
Naylor made sure to emphasize that there is no issue with Raleigh and that he knew what the likely outcome would be when he attempted the greeting.
“It’s not that big of a deal to be completely honest,” said Naylor. “I like joking with my teammates and he’s an awesome friend of mine. So I love Cal and wish him the best. I can’t wait to see him and joke about him with it in the locker room when we get back to Arizona.”
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