Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh had a breakout season in 2025, blasting 60 homers and driving in 125 runs. He propelled his squad into the playoffs for just the second time in the last 20 years. It felt liek Raleigh was on the rise and becoming one of the most likeable success stories in baseball. The 2026 World Baseball Classic may have shifted that narrative.
The mix of poor performance and antics that are uncharacteristic for Raleigh have raised a lot of questions. It feels like Raleigh has some explaining to do with his teammates of both the Mariners and Team USA.
Should Cal Raleigh apologize for WBC?
When looking at the star-studed roster for Team USA in the 2026 WBC, Cal Raleigh seemed like he fit into the middle of that lineup perfectly as a major power threat. He actually turned into quite the opposite.
In three games with USA, Raleigh went 0-for-9 at the plate with five strikeouts. He did draw four walks but that was literally the only offesnive production he contributed. This poor performance ultimately forced manager Mark DeRosa to bench the All-Star catcher.
Sure, this is a small sample size and freaking out over Raleigh's hitless WBC may be a little extreme but it is easy to wonder if there is something to it. We know Raleigh will have to face the same caliber of pitchers in the MLB if not better and it almost feels like the pressure of the WBC was getting to him. If he cannot show up on the big stage of the WBC, what will October look like if the Mariners can get there again?
In the midst of Raleigh's struggles, he put his name in more unwanted conversation by straight up ignoring one of his own Mariners teammate during a WBC game. When Team USA took on Team Mexico, Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena stepped into the batter's box and reached out to greet his teammate Raleigh.
Instead of obliging, Raleigh simply ignored Arozarena and refused to acknowledge his handshake attempt. This sparked major questions across the baseball world, wondering if there was something that is hindering an inviting clubhouse back in Seattle.
Some speculate that Raleigh did not want to take the risk of transferring pine tar or other sticky substances to the baseball as we all know the issues that would cause. However, if that was the case, it feels like Raleigh would have told Arozarena that was the case and we would have seen the interaction end on a positive note.
Additionally, Raleigh has yet to speak out on this instance. Arozarena says he is ready to move on and focus on the upcoming 2026 regular season but there have been only crickets from Raleigh's side. It is hard to say that Raleigh should apologize for performing poorly as all players are going to go through slumps but expressing some form of accountability is something the Mariners and Team USA deserve to get from the switch-hitting backstop.