Handshakes might be the talk of the town when members of the Seattle Mariners return from the World Baseball Classic.
After a snubbed handshake between Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena led to a vulgar rant from the latter, fellow Mariner and Canadian first baseman Josh Naylor decided to turn down the temperature.
When Naylor first stepped up to the batter's box in the quarterfinal showdown between the U.S. and Canada, he attempted to greet Raleigh behind the plate but was promptly denied, as Arozarena had been only days before.
Asked about the interaction after the 5-3 Canada loss, Naylor made it clear that it was all just for laughs and that it's all love between him and his Mariners teammate.
"We were all just joking. Trying to really make light of the situation," Naylor said. "I texted him before that I was gonna do it, and he said, 'Please don't,' but me and Cal are really good friends. He's an awesome teammate. Honestly, one of my favourite teammates I think I've ever had in my career."
While Raleigh declined to shake Naylor's hand, the Canadian first baseman did say that the two greeted each other as he stepped up to the plate.
"I love him and I was honestly just super joking. ... I mean, it is what it is. I'm not gonna like try to cause anything. It's not that big of a deal to be completely honest," Naylor said.
Naylor's response was worlds different from Arozarena's, as the Mariners outfielder went viral for his post-game comments about the interaction when he told Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish that Raleigh "has to thank god he has nice parents, well educated," and used profane Cuban and Mexican slang to insult the catcher.
Speaking on the incident a couple days later, Raleigh said "there's no beef" between the two and called him "my brother. We're family."
