🤝 A feeling I just can't shake

The friction between Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena is the kind of story I absolutely hated to talk about on the radio.

That’s not because I don’t find the story interesting.

I am endlessly fascinated by the psychology of elite athletes: everything from motivation to inter-personal skills to conflict resolution.

This is much easier to do when the discussion does not involve two members of the home team, however.

Because if that happens, what the audience REALLY wants is for this issue to be no big deal or – even better – completely manufactured by the media. As a radio host, this means that a decent chunk of the audience is actively angry for even bringing this up or – using contemporary lexicon – “platforming this issue.”

In case you’re lost: On Monday, Arozarena came to the plate in the top of the first inning of the game between Mexico and the United States. He extended his hand toward Raleigh, who did not greet return the greeting.

It seemed that Raleigh said something to Arozarena, who dug in for his at-bat. He would go 0-for-3 in Mexico’s loss.

Afterward, Arozarena was interviewed in Spanish, and he took four different tacks to express his feelings about Raleigh’s snub. Here’s the footage of the interview.

There are a few different translations, but they all ultimately agree on two things:

1. It included profanity;

2. It concluded with the suggestion Raleigh take the greeting he offered in place of a handshake and lodge those words in his hindparts.

Was it a joke between teammates?

Maybe, but that seems increasingly less likely the more information has come out. Before we get further into the history of this particular issue, let’s get caught up on NFL free agency.

Free agency is like steamed vegetables for a Seahawks fan.

It’s not the most enjoyable item on the menu. It is healthy, though, and an essential part of a balanced payroll.

I felt compelled to offer that yearly reminder in this week’s column for The News Tribune.

The Seahawks are off to a great start, but I know it doesn’t feel like it.

Avoiding attrition instead of making additions isn’t going to earn you any headlines. It is a big part of the reason the Seahawks have never bottomed out in Schneider’s 16 years in charge of the roster, though.

• The Seahawks not-so-sexy formula for success

  By Danny O’Neil

At the last World Baseball Classic – which was played in 2023 – U.S. catcher Will Smith visibly declined to shake Arozarena’s hand. Afterward, Arozarena was asked about the snub, and said – in Spanish – “What am I going to do about it, cry?”

Three years later, he’s cursing after something similar happened with his Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh.

This has caused quite a bit of concern.

The story published Tuesday by The Seattle Times said that after Monday’s game, Raleigh was seen walking down toward the visiting team’s clubhouse presumably to talk to Arozarena. The story also quoted Raleigh, who told reporters , “I reached out to Randy and I told him, essentially, sorry if you felt disrespected or whatever it may be.”

Additionally, Mark DeRosa, manager of the U.S. team, said Tuesday that Raleigh had previously asked Arozarena not to try and shake hands.

“He had mentioned that they had spoke about that,” De Rosa said of Raleigh. “He said kind of, ‘Hey, don’t put me in that position.’ “

My best guess at what is going on:

The U.S. team has an informal policy against fraternizing with members of opposing teams during the game.

If Arozarena didn’t know of this policy before the 2023 encounter with Smith, he certainly did afterward. He seems to think it’s ridiculous and he sought to test it.

We don’t know how serious Arozarena is. It’s possible he’s joking. It’s possible this is gamesmanship. It’s possible he’s teasing in a very pointed manner, and it’s possible he’s legitimately pissed.

Raleigh very much does not want this to be a thing, but the fact he mentioned reaching out to Arozarena, but said nothing about the two talking means he doesn’t have much clarity, either.

Will this be a serious issue going forward?

I have no idea.

A lot of people have mentioned the tenacity that U.S. players have shown while competing for their country in other sports. Most dramatically, Kobe Bryant ran through a screen set by Lakers teammate Pau Gasol at the 2008 Olympics to make his intentions clear.

That moment is reconstructed quite poignantly in the Netflix documentary about the so-called Redeem Team:

The difference: Bryant was absolutely and entirely unapologetic about his approach. He was unflinching in his competitive edge. He essentially dared Gasol to have a problem.

This seems different.

It seems like Raleigh very much wanted this not to become a thing, which is why the subject was broached prior to the game.

He reached out to Arozarena afterward to make it clear it wasn’t personal.

Maybe Arozarena will view it as one of those things that happens in competition. Perhaps he thinks it’s funny. Maybe he is taking it personal.

What I do know is that every single Mariners fan is united in the desire for this NOT to be an issue. This will lead to some to angrily protest any instance in which the situation is brought up in much the same way people used to hate any discussion of the tension that existed between Russell Wilson and some of his teammates while he was playing for the Seahawks.

It’s easiest to blame the messenger in those situations while overlooking all the facts that point to the possibility there might be an actual issue.