HOUSTON (AP) — Randy Arozarena was verbally abusive to Seattle teammate Cal Raleigh during the World Baseball Classic.
During the U.S.’s 5-3 win over Mexico, two-time All-Star outfielder Arozarena appeared to take a jab at Rowley because the U.S. catcher didn’t accept a handshake before at-bat.
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Arozarena, who spoke in Spanish to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert, said Raleigh “has to thank God that he has good parents, a good education” and said he had recently embraced them in a friendly greeting at the team hotel.
He then insulted Rowley using disrespectful Cuban and Mexican slang before saying in English that Rowley could shove his “nice to meet you” behind him. Arozarena was born in Cuba but defected to Mexico to pursue a Major League Baseball (MLB) career.
Arozarena reached out to greet Rowley as the catcher at home plate crouched, but Rowley refused to extend his hand. During the exchange at the plate, Rowley appeared to say something to Arozarena that might have angered the Mexican star.
Arozarena seemed visibly unhappy with Rowley, though it’s unclear if he was just having fun at the expense of his teammates. The two have been teammates since Arozarena was traded to Seattle from Tampa Bay for the 2024 season.
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Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer and Roman Anthony drove in three runs in the third inning to lead Team USA to victory. The United States improves to 3-0 and will face Italy (2-0) on Tuesday night in an attempt to clinch a quarterfinal berth in Houston this weekend.
Jalen Duran had a two-run homer for Mexico (2-1), which will face Italy in its final Group B game Wednesday night.
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Associated Press MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb